Global Ku-band coverage is becoming a key requirement

With the expectation of rising demand for VSAT services, airtime providers are expanding their networks in Ku-band. As more operators of ships and offshore support vessels are realising the benefits of VSAT, suppliers have taken extra capacity on the growing number of satellite beams.

Astrium Services, which includes the subsidiary Marlink, has increased its Ku-band capacity over Europe, the Middle East and North America through deals with satellite operators Eutelsat, Intelsat and SES. Astrium has expanded its network over the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Barents Sea by taking Ku-band capacity on Eutelsat’s E36B satellite.

Astrium has also acquired new capacity on SES satellite AMC-21, transferring the capacity from SES’s older satellite AMC-9. AMC-21 provides enhanced signal and coverage over North America and its coastal waters, and over the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. The agreements will enable Astrium to offer greater bandwidth capacity to offshore oil and gas and maritime clients on a number of satellites. This also means that Astrium has more redundancy in its service to provide reliable communications services, said Astrium head of maritime services Tore Morten Olsen.

“With usage patterns changing and the demand for bandwidth rising, our Ku-band capacity ensures we are well positioned to provide the high level of reliable connectivity that the maritime market requires today and in the future,” he said. “It is important for us to meet the bandwidth and service availability demands of vessels regardless of where they are operating. These latest coverage extensions strengthen our ability to provide services in mainstream maritime regions, meeting the current demand for globally available data usage, but also with extensive capacity to ensure we can meet future bandwidth requirements from the maritime and offshore sectors.”

Intelsat’s investment in satellite capacity is in response to the rising demand from maritime and offshore sectors, said senior vice president for global sales Kurt Riegelman. “Our infrastructure investments, including the completion of our global broadband mobility network, position us to support our customers’ unique requirements, today and well into the future.”

Other VSAT service providers have closed some of the gaps in their global services, especially in the Indian Ocean and southern seas, so they can provide a near-global solution for ship operators. NSSLGlobal expanded its Ku-band network by adding two more satellite beams over the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic. It said the extra capacity comes from using Intelsat satellites and the ground station in Rugby, UK, and will enhance the services to commercial ships and superyacht owners.

NSSLGlobal has taken capacity on Intelsat’s IS-21 satellite that is positioned 58 degrees west and provides coverage across the South Atlantic, from South Africa across to Buenos Aires, Argentina. This complements the NSSLGlobal TL11 North Atlantic beam that is already part of the near-global coverage offered by the company. The other addition is a Ku-band beam on the MID-IOR satellite, covering the Maldives and Seychelles area, primarily for the superyacht customer base.

SpeedCast also expanded its coverage over the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic to provide satellite footprints across the main shipping lanes. The additions were needed as SpeedCast has seen a sharp increase in demand for VSAT connectivity on transatlantic routes from Africa to South America and across the Indian Ocean, said vice president for maritime services André Eerland. “This is an important investment in our maritime network which not only provides complete coverage of all key maritime routes, but also enhances our coverage with multi-satellite support for additional redundancy.” The new coverage over the two heavily traversed routes is provided via three satellites.

MTN Satellite Communications has renewed satellite capacity over the Indian Ocean as it protects its leading market position in the cruise ship sector and grows its business in the superyacht market. MTN secured capacity on several transponders aboard SES’s NSS-12 satellite. The renewal enables MTN to provide high speed broadband, for passenger and crew communications, entertainment and corporate networks, on shipping routes throughout the Indian Ocean. The service will also enable ship operators to monitor their operations at sea remotely, in real-time, MTN said.

The company relies on multiple SES satellites to serve its maritime customers around the world, said vice president for systems and space engineering Zafar Khan. “SES has been an important partner, as MTN continues to grow and expand its mobility service offerings as well as its new hybrid network. This innovative solution allows partners to switch seamlessly from satellite to terrestrial broadband, maximising the bandwidth delivered to each vessel and others in their fleets for the best and most reliable performance and cost efficiencies.”

The satellite capacity is only part of a solution that VSAT can provide to shipowners, said SES vice president of mobility and enterprise services John Matlaga. “Exciting advances in mobility technologies, including high-throughput mobility beams aboard SES satellites, are enabling maritime leaders like MTN to help their customers operate as effectively and efficiently on the world’s oceans as they do on land.”

Effective and efficient operations, including reducing fuel consumption, have become increasingly important to shipowners and charterers who pay the bunker bills. According to Fred Maartens, chief executive of VSAT service provider OceanSat, reducing the fuel bill is more of an incentive for ordering VSAT than crew welfare. “The market has been tough, but it looks like there has been more interest as ship operators are collecting information on VSAT solutions. So we expect to see more re-investment in satellite communications in 2014,” he said.

“We are seeing a change in mindset, with operators recognising the importance of managing vessels better than in the past. With VSAT, vessels can become sailing offices, and this is a huge difference to how it was in the past. More applications can be utilised. For example, operators can use cameras on board and can have video conferences between people on board and in shore offices. Crew welfare is not as important a reason to invest in VSAT as there is enough crew around.”

Mr Maartens dismisses the widely held assumption that VSAT is far more expensive than L-band alternatives, as OceanSat has packages starting at around US$1,000 per month. As this allows phone calls at local rates, owners can make savings over time. “We can offer a complete solution with Intellian VSAT terminals, such as the V80 antenna. We can also supply Cobham Satcom antennas, such as the Sea Tel range, if these are already on vessels in a fleet that comes under our service,” he explained.

“We can be flexible with our service and we are competitive in pricing. Operators can save up to 20 per cent by using our services. We focus on owners with fleets of up to 25 vessels and work closely with them. We can provide multi-year services or temporary solutions.” Temporary VSAT installations are increasingly required in the offshore vessel and superyacht sectors, so OceanSat can offer half-year rental solutions.

Australian VSAT provider Applied Satellite Technology Systems (AST) has seen more demand for temporary VSAT solutions in Asia. AST supplies a Sea Tel or Sailor 900 antenna, with a FleetBroadband 250 or 500 terminal as back up, plus the below-deck equipment for a multi-month contract. According to AST team leader Marcus Jansson the below-deck unit includes an AST router, iDirect modem, antenna control unit, network switch and connection manager and the power supply unit.

“Traditionally, VSAT is a permanent installation with equipment bought by the vessel operator,” he explained. “But we are seeing a big change, especially for offshore vessel clients, where the projects and contracts are short term and they need rental VSAT for a short period. Some find they cannot live without VSAT at the end of this period and decide to keep the system.”

Many of the temporary VSAT requirements are due to oil companies needing better communications on the vessels for specific projects. For some contracts, AST only has a week to install the equipment in Singapore, so the company keeps spares in a warehouse. “Small supply vessels may not need VSAT all of the time, but they may begin a contract that includes a VSAT requirement,” Mr Jansson said. “We are getting more customers that have vessels that want expansion in VSAT capacity quickly, but they do not want to interfere with the existing system, so we can add systems without working on the main network.”

Owners that need a rapid upgrade to VSAT should fabricate their own antenna pedestals and conduct most of the cable runs before entering port, so that installation engineers do not spend much time on the vessels. “Most ship operators will want to do the cable runs to minimise the installation time in port. Our engineer can then do the hook up and commissioning of VSAT equipment,” said Mr Jansson.

Inmarsat prepares for GX Ka-band services

Inmarsat will set up an applications store that service providers can use to offer their programs over the Global Express (GX) service when it begins in 2014. The UK-based satellite operator launched the first GX satellite in December 2013 and expects to launch and two more in 2014 to offer a global Ka-band service to the maritime and offshore sectors.

Inmarsat market development manager Michael Meijer expects that the faster broadband speeds over Ka-band will enable ship operators to use airtime in more innovative ways. He has challenged suppliers to develop applications that can be used across the GX network. “We will develop a GX app store with connections to third party programs, such as those provided by engine manufacturers and weather services, that ship operators can sign up for,” he said. Manufacturers of ship systems could offer remote monitoring, spares ordering or online manuals over GX.

The first satellite will be positioned over the Indian Ocean and will be commissioned in January 2014. Inmarsat recently ordered a fourth GX satellite from Boeing to provide some service redundancy and upgrade potential. “We will be able to extend the capacity when data requirements are growing by launching a fourth satellite,” said Mr Meijer. “We will be able to provide additional bandwidth for various applications. Crew can have more Internet capabilities for streaming video, and there could be video conferencing to shore. Also, operators can have applications for ship security. During the off-peak time, the bandwidth can be used for broadcasting TV and other media to ships in a multicasting way.” MEC