VSAT Growth and New Ka-band Offerings Shaking Up Maritime Market
Space News - December 21, 2010
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Maritime satellite communications have changed dramatically in the past decade. Not so long ago, basic voice and low-data-rate safety applications were about the only offerings available to ship operators. Today, the maritime market is fully plugged into the global IP network, and ship operators and their crews have access to voice and video communications; real-time updates on weather, routes and trade prices; full Internet access; instant messaging; and asset tracking and surveillance. This greater demand for communications resources has created an attractive opening for mobile satellite service (MSS) high-data-rate systems such as Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband and Iridium’s OpenPort. End users have found them to be an alternative to legacy low-data-rate MSS solutions and the large and expensive VSAT systems. But that could soon change, with the global emergence of Ka-band service as an alternative for maritime users. By 2014, Inmarsat will have… (for full article, click on the above PDF)
