Mike McNally, Director of Maritime Products, Intelsat
Connectivity demands in commercial shipping, fishing and cruise are constantly changing—maritime operators are looking to send a lot more data affordably and they have to do it without compromising reliability, efficiency and safety.
Recognizing these needs, Intelsat is offering add-on packages to the company’s award-winning FlexMaritime network, providing reliable, high-throughput satellite connectivity now using different networks and multiple orbits.
When you and your crew are miles from shore, just one network alone simply won’t cut it—extreme weather conditions, last minute route changes and emergency responses are all heightened when you’re far offshore (have you watched Deadliest Catch?).
While most LEO-only providers want to entice you with their low-cost offers, most of the time you get what you pay for... the service is sometimes unavailable or underperforming and there’s no one to call because these providers don’t offer customer service.
While you think you are saving money at the start, in the long run, these LEO-only services tend to be overused resulting in unexpectedly high invoices.
With FlexMaritime Vantage, customers can count on a connectivity companion through GEO orbit paired with multi-network options. That means a customer can choose between two different modems to improve performance, depending on their need for higher throughput for greater speed to meet greater demand.
With FlexMaritime DUO, a customer can experience the reliability of GEO with the high-speed, low-latency service of LEO. It’s the best of both worlds, directly at your fingertips. The best part is you can rely on this type of service at a price that works for you. With FlexMaritime Vantage, shipping companies can access a communications network that provides unused bandwidth from aviation, meaning it’s offered to shipping companies at a more affordable price.
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Which offering is correct for you...
That depends on how you use it
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There are similarities between cargo and fishing vessels, but commercial fishing covers a much broader spectrum. Each type of vessel has its own dedicated connectivity needs.
Catcher vessels with small numbers of crew are always busy—they don’t have a lot of time for surfing the internet. But they do require regulatory reporting and must stay connected to their management office telling them what type and how many fish to catch, not to mention staying in touch with loved ones on shore. All of this can be done cost-effectively with a multi-orbit solution all while broadening their ability for communication.
Cargo ships and large ‘processor’ vessels must meet the same requirements as the smaller vessels but have more crew with more free time due to shift work. This is where a full scale VSAT and LEO combination (FlexMaritime Duo) serves the crew best, offering a chance to call home and stream or scroll at their leisure. Every captain wants to keep their crew happy; the key is to provide connectivity without compromising data allowances. Some crews run out of data allowance too soon and never make it to the end of the month.
Intelsat also offers crew welfare solutions that don’t consume a lot of bandwidth. This service is called Crew TV, a new, live service that doesn’t draw down on a ship’s available data capacity and allows the crew to sit together and share a live TV experience.
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The Future
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As shipping advances its technology toward the future more and more, ships are looking for enhanced automation, making the ship’s operations and equipment data available for review—ship to shore—ensuring everything is running as efficiently, economically and environmentally friendly as possible. This meets many industry guidelines and requirements and can be accomplished in real time.
With all of this change, the one constant maritime operator can count on is working with trusted maritime service providers. Intelsat works with a select group of solution partners that know their customers, offering Intelsat products and putting together the right services to meet customer needs.
Solution partners are echoing the needs of the industry, asking for multi-orbit and multi-network products. This gives Intelsat the confidence to invest in upgrades and developments maritime operators can trust.
The investment in multi-orbit and multi-network solutions is where the maritime industry is headed. There are still plenty of ships out there using L-band and not everyone is going to immediately adapt to the latest technology. Many operators still use VSAT as their primary and they are quite happy with what it does for them as it allows them to control their costs and they know what they are getting.
Mike McNally They might consider a LEO system just for the crew, but more and more operators are recognizing that the blend of these two services (GEO and LEO) provides better solutions for the operations, crew and the vessel and when they are ready to take that next step, Intelsat will be here to help chart their course.
Author Mike McNally is the Director of Maritime Products at Intelsat.
Partnering to Drive Opportunity with Satellite-Powered Cellular Networks Across the Solomon Islands
Author: Nigel Stitt, Senior Sales Director, APAC, Intelsat
With access to reliable broadband and cellular networks comes the educational, economic and social opportunities that drive the modern world. Intelsat, operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks, is committed to helping our partners around the world deliver access to fast and reliable digital services for citizens, communities and enterprises regardless of geography.
Intelsat’s collaboration with Solomon Telekom Company Limited (STCL), the leading telecommunications provider in the Solomon Islands, is an example. STCL is now leveraging Intelsat’s Horizons 3e (H-3e) to deliver advanced mobile backhaul services to more than 50 rural and remote communities across the islands, areas where traditional terrestrial infrastructure is often not feasible due to environmental, geographic or economic challenges.
Residents in previously under-served areas experience clearer voice calls, faster data speeds, and access to vital digital services such as mobile banking and online education, tools that are critical for social and economic development.
These services are a continuation of STCL’s work to provide modern connectivity services like 4G cellular to all Solomon Islanders. In support of this solution, Intelsat serves as the managed services partner, offering satellite capacity as well as full-service network operations, including 24/7/365 remote monitoring and proactive support.
As part of the deployment, 52 remote sites were retrofitted with new hardware to facilitate the STCL’s transition to the H-3e Epic Ku-band satellite. This upgrade significantly improved the overall efficiency of the service and enabled new higher-speed services to users, as well as lowering costs by preserving existing infrastructure wherever possible.
Additionally, the partnership features a fully OPEX-based commercial model, lowering upfront investment for STCL and offering a more predictable, long-term cost structure, an important advantage for network operators as they expand the footprint and capabilities of their offerings.
Looking ahead, the solution is designed to be scalable and future ready. STCL’s network can now be quickly expanded to meet Universal Service obligations or new business opportunities. The system is also prepared for multi-orbit integration, ensuring flexibility as satellite technologies continue to advance.
Nigel Stitt Intelsat’s decade-long relationship with STCL highlights the potential of modern satellite solutions to both close the connectivity gap and support sustainable growth in regions challenged to deploy fiber or other network infrastructure solutions. By leveraging the benefits of Intelsat’s managed services, regional partners like STCL can continue their efforts across the Pacific to ensure broad access to the digital world.
Author Nigel Stitt is the Senior Sales Director, APAC, at Intelsat