GEONETCast—Delivering Environmental Data to Users Worldwide (September 2007)

GEONETCast, a near real-time global environmental information-delivery system by which in situ, airborne, and space-based observations, products, and services are transmitted to users through communication satellites, was accepted as a GEO initiative by the second GEO Plenary. GEONETCast is an interconnected global network of regional dissemination systems that are each focused on a specific geographic region under the respective satellites' footprints. Data from each region can be disseminated outside the originating region through data-exchange links between regions, such as through dedicated lines, overlapping satellite footprints, or use of the Internet or other existing networks. The regional components include one or more data collection, management, and dissemination hubs that receive, process, prioritize, and schedule the incoming data streams or products originating within the particular region. These GEONETCast Network Centres (GNCs) forward the prioritized data stream to the uplink ground station, which receives it, wraps it in a DVB-S dissemination protocol, and uplinks it to a communication satellite for dissemination at Ku- or C-band frequency. The data GEONETCast delivers is specifically targeted to address nine society benefit areas such as natural and human-induced hazards, environment and health, environmental-related energy issues, climate change, water management, weather, ecosystem management, sustainable agriculture, and desertification and biodiversity, with the aim of reaching a global coverage and allow the reception of this data at very low cost (basic reception station below $US2000) by nearly anyone on the planet. GEONETCast is a prominent case in which typical obstacles such as interoperability of existing systems and components reuse of existing infrastructure and interfacing with newly developed components have been resolved successfully.