Case Study

BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service)

BFBS partnered with Cerberus Tech to deliver resilient TV and radio services to remote overseas deployments using IP-based multiplex delivery.
BFBS

The Challenge

BFBS needed a way to deliver television and radio services to British Armed Forces stationed overseas, including to locations that would no longer be served after the existing satellite coverage was reconfigured.

Many of these deployments were in regions with limited infrastructure and unreliable connectivity, making it difficult to maintain the same high-quality service that British forces personnel and their families receive elsewhere.

The goal was to design and operate a resilient, bespoke multiplex package capable of reaching some of the most remote and technically challenging environments.

The Solution

Cerberus Tech developed and deployed a tailored solution designed specifically for BFBS’s operational requirements. The initial scope, delivered in 2023, provided three multiplexes (main and backup) across five international sites under a three-year contract.

Building on this foundation, the system was expanded in subsequent phases:

  • Addition of two 24/7 remote TV station return services in Q1 of Year 2
  • Introduction of a fourth and fifth 24/7 multiplex in Q4 of Year 2
  • Ongoing test and development work on ultra-low bitrate encoding and multiplexing, enabling delivery via Starlink and OneWeb where traditional IP paths aren’t viable.

To provide full operational visibility, custom monitoring dashboards were also deployed, offering real-time oversight and performance data across all sites (still in development).

BFBS Dashboard

The Results

The partnership has enabled BFBS to extend its content delivery capabilities without relying on geostationary satellite distribution.

Cerberus Tech’s managed service solution maintains reliable, high-quality broadcast services for personnel in some of the most remote corners of the world.

The flexible design of the system allows new locations or services to be added as needed, ensuring the network can evolve alongside BFBS’s mission requirements.

 

  • Resilient IP delivery for time-critical broadcast streams.
  • Reliable services delivered to remote locations. 
  • Flexible, scalable mulitplex architecture.

“The Cerberus Tech Network 1 platform provides a very robust method of sending time-critical data streams across the internet, which until recently would not have been possible.”

David Ramsay
Head of Global Engineering, BFBS