Growing demand for faster satellite communications at sea has led to VSAT technology adoption passing a new landmark, with seafarer welfare, regulatory compliance and vessel monitoring driving VSAT installations on ships in maritime and offshore sectors
Installations passed a new milestone in June 2022 when Intelsat announced it had more than 10,000 vessels operating on its FlexMaritime service, for which terminals on vessels communicate with Intelsat’s geostationary satellites in Ku band.
More than 2,000 terminals have been installed on vessels since November 2021 in key maritime markets, including merchant shipping, fishing, leisure and offshore energy.
Intelsat launched FlexMaritime in 2017 as a global, multi-layered communications platform using its growing network of high-throughput satellites. These geostationary satellites provide wide beams and spot beams of Ku-band across maritime sectors, enabling vessel owners to benefit from shipboard technologies for smart shipping.
Vessels use Ku-band VSAT to access maritime connectivity applications such as remote monitoring and performance diagnostics, video streaming and real-time software upgrades.
Seafarers gain from always-available connectivity for communications and to access social media and online applications at sea.
Intelsat senior vice president of mobility Mark Rasmussen said FlexMaritime enables distribution partners to support the next-generation solutions and services the maritime industry needs at the port and at sea.
He said Intelsat remains committed to expanding its capabilities in maritime VSAT through launching a “next-generation software-defined network” of geostationary satellites.
FlexMaritime can be customised and is a wholesale Mbps-managed service enabling users to manage their bandwidth and service levels.
Vessel owners can select from more than 30 qualified antennas of various sizes, including 1-m, 60-cm, the ultra-compact 37-cm and 45-cm terminals for FlexMaritime. All antennas connect seamlessly to Intelsat’s fully integrated satellite and terrestrial network.
Intelsat’s 10,000 vessel installations add to more than 10,000 vessels already using Inmarsat’s Ka-band Global Xpress constellation for satellite communications, as reported at the start of this year.
Even more vessels will be using VSAT Ku-band and Ka-band services from other satellite operators, such as Eutelsat, SES and Telenor Satellite, boosting total global maritime VSAT installations to more than 30,000, with some estimates of vessel installations across all maritime sectors at 45,000.
