Norway’s largest cruise ferry line has boosted communications on its new cargo transportation ship
Color Line has selected a combination of satellite communications and 4G connectivity for its latest European roro cargo ferry, Color Carrier.
It has chosen Speedcast International to provide VSAT, L-band communications and a long-term evolution (LTE)/4G connectivity for this ship, which operates between Oslo, Norway, and Kiel, Germany.
Speedcast has installed antennas for its Ku-band service and Iridium Certus L-band for connectivity to satellites. It also installed dual tracking LTE and multiple omni-directional LTE antennas to increase the range of connection to coastal networks. All links are managed by Speedcast’s network operations team for seamless connectivity.
Color Line chief technology officer Anders Angell-Olsen said this combination “enables us to use the best available link at any given location in our sailing route to cover our operational needs”.
He said the 4G/LTE link was both efficient and reliable. “This is an important feature of our onboard communications system, since we depend on connectivity for ship tracking, safety and security and guest experience on all of our routes,” he explained.
Color Carrier was built in Norway in 1998. This 154.5-m ship (ex-Finncarrier) was purchased by Color Line and started trading between Oslo and Kiel in January 2019.
Having both VSAT and Iridium Certus links enhances the reliability of satellite communications through multi-access technology coverage, said Speedcast senior vice president for cruise and ferry Brent Horwitz.
“The solution implements the latest technology innovations to achieve fast, low-latency communications,” he said.
These channels with the LTE network are open to operations communications, crew welfare services and passengers’ connectivity.
“With the combination of tracking LTE antennas and omni-directional LTE antennas supported by a wide area network solution, we are able to demonstrate nearly 100% coverage from LTE/4G connectivity on the sailing route for Color Carrier,” said Mr Horwitz.
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