The world’s best maritime service providers, satellite operators and equipment manufacturers are hard at work transforming the connectivity experience at sea. Several of iDirect’s partners have dedicated themselves to overcoming some of the greatest challenges that face maritime operations today, from delivering new levels of customer and crew connectivity, to enabling better operational agility and intelligence to cargo vessels.
Enabling Better Network Speed and Integration
Today, satellite operators need to support growing ranges of applications for rapidly expanding global footprints and fleet sizes. With Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress service, the connected ship can use real-time intelligence to improve operational agility, enhance efficiency, address regulatory compliance and cyber security, and reduce costs. Intelsat’s EpicNG High Throughput Satellite (HTS) network has helped maritime operators fully integrate their global fleets with on-shore operations. And SES Networks’ Maritime+ enables maritime customers to have easy access to customizable bandwidth and coverage packages, ensuring satellite capacity is effectively utilized.
Offering Custom Maritime Connectivity Solutions
For the cruise market, the benefits that connectivity can bring to crew welfare and passenger satisfaction are too important to ignore. Service providers like Speedcast provide highly reliable, fully managed, end-to-end remote communication and IT solutions through their collaborative network design approach for customers like Hurtigruten, a global cruise liner based in Norway that sails to topographies where it’s difficult to provide reliable communications onboard.
And to provide the levels of service required on cruise ships today, Marlink uses iDirect’s 9350 remote, and has continuously evolved their services to help customers like ferry operator Stena Line improve vessel and fleet operations through IT and communications.
As for trade across the largest oceans, today’s requirements include more bandwidth, stronger reliability, and faster analysis. Globecomm has made global coverage of all major shipping routes more capable and more manageable than ever with their iDirect IP-based platform that offers access to new HTS Ku-, Ka- and C-band services on a single platform.
Meanwhile, Orange Business Services has developed Maritime Connect, which allows shipping companies to seamlessly integrate their fleet into the corporate network and provide Internet access for crew and applications.
Innovating to Streamline Antenna Efficiencies
Satellite operators have also innovated to bring to market more abundant and more cost-effective, high-speed capacity. Kymeta, for example, is making connectivity on the water easy to access, always available, abundant and virtually invisible. Their metamaterials-based flat panel, electronically steered antennas, and terminals, not only support high-throughput internet connectivity, but also enable vessels to be equipped with easy-to-install, auto-provisioning, smart systems that can scale to bring connectivity to any maritime vessel.
Leading the Way with iDirect
With these leading maritime companies, iDirect is enabling unprecedented levels of operational agility, intelligence, and bandwidth. And as ground infrastructure manufacturers are developing software-defined modems that can be continually upgraded over-the-air to increase network capabilities and throughput levels, the iDirect VSAT modem has served as a technology lynchpin for delivering and advancing these exceptional maritime services.
Read our full report here and learn how iDirect and its maritime partners are charting new waters in the growing maritime market.