Stena Line to install high-speed wifi on 38 ships

More people and devices are being connected on Stena’s ships, and internet access has become more expected by passengers and crew, according to Stena. The increasing expectations for good-quality connectivity means provision of the service has become a value-added for passenger ships, the line said.

Stena made the investment decision to install Nowhere Networks’ long-distance internet solution after evaluating the service for the past six months.

Nowhere Networks provides higher speeds of connectivity to ships at lower costs than satellite communications through a line-of-sight radio communication solution. This involves a network of antennas constructed on shore and installation of maritime antennas on ships linked to the network. Passengers can use a wifi network on Stena’s ships to connect their own mobile devices to the internet through this wireless link to shore.

The onboard hardware includes built-in antenna tracking technology, which automatically communicates through a wireless signal from ship to land and keeps the vessels connected at all times.

Nowhere Networks has set up an intelligent cloud-based software platform that scales to over 10,000 vessels for automated control and automatic resource optimisation. Stena operates 38 vessels across 18 ferry routes in northern and western Europe and employs over 5,100 personnel.

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