Advancements in numerical forecast modeling, satellite and radar analyses and other hydrometeorological products contribute to an evolving suite of forecast products that are vital to NWS forecasters and our private industry partners. It is expected that the data dissemination requirements needed to accommodate this growing suite of products could increase by more than 20-fold by 2010. The NWS AWIPS uses a satellite broadcasting network (referred to as the SBN or NOAAPort) which consists of multiple non variable channels for delivering these products to NWS field sites and our partners. In order to help meet the needs of AWIPS users and our industry partners, the NWS is modernizing the SBN, with the insertion of improved hardware, software, and communications technologies.

The centerpiece of the SBN expansion has been the development and testing of Digital Video Broadcast – Satellite (DVB-S), which will ultimately enable the SBN to transmit over a single linearly-scalable satellite channel. In addition to DVB-S, another important component of the SBN expansion has been the increased usage of advanced product compression technologies such as GRIB2/JPEG2000, zlib, and BZIP2. GRIB2/JPEG2000. A major milestone was recently reached, when compressed high-resolution NCEP Eta model products were added to the DVB-S SBN channel suite in a test mode. This important addition to the SBN suite provides SBN/NOAAPort users with valuable NCEP short-term model forecast products, in the 0 – 3.5 day range, at the native Eta model horizontal resolution of 12 km, over the continental US.

In the longer term, the insertion of DVB-S technology and compression positions NWS for further SBN enhancements. Plans are in place to finalize the single scalable DVB-S channel transition in 2005. It is planned to also scale up the SBN bandwidth by 71% in 2005.