Page 91: of Marine News Magazine (November 2017)

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COMMUNICATIONS operators rely on a marine very high frequency (VHF) purchase costs and low monthly running costs. radio and a domestic cellular contract for their business Separately, Iridium provides Low Earth Orbit (LEO) data and calls. Some inland vessels are also equipped with satellites that are constantly circling the globe since the either Iridium or Inmarsat terminals, but the high cost of mid-1990s. Offering affordable voice and low-speed data purchase remains a barrier to entry. However, the costs of plans, Iridium and other third party manufacturers of- satellite terminal purchase and usage are falling slowly. fer a wide range of satellite terminals that suit almost any

A domestic cellular plan is an attractive option, and rep- requirement. Iridium has launched its next generation of resents a signi? cant cost advantage when the inland vessel satellite services, named Certus. This latest service offers a is operating within a set territory. Travelling outside the vast range of connection speeds, starting with a 350Kbps domestic zone can represent higher and sometimes uncon- commercial maritime service in Q3 2017. By 2020, Certus trolled roaming costs. For example, regional (data only) will offer global speeds from 22 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps, making 4G LTE plans are being released by operators in the Eu- it a very attractive future alternative to Inmarsat.

ropean Union to help mitigate these issues, offering ? xed Finally, industries such as government, emergency man- monthly pricing. Additionally, coverage in remote areas agement, marine and energy use Globalstar to conduct can be enhanced by adding an external cellular antenna business smarter and faster, maintain peace of mind and mounted as high as possible on a vessel. Therefore, a rela- access emergency personnel. Globalstar data solutions are tively small investment of a router and external antenna ideal for various asset and personal tracking, data moni- can yield excellent results, allowing business to continue toring, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) even in a remote inland area. and internet of things (IoT) applications.

However, for some inland waterways, even an external Satellite communications plans are provided in sev- cellular antenna is insuf? cient to keep in touch. Satellite eral different methods. Entry-level plans are typically for connectivity remains the only available option in these ar- voice calling only, either pre- or post-paid. Data is nor- eas, but choosing a service that won’t bankrupt an operator mally charged on a per-megabyte basis, with bundles for remains a challenge. an amount of data per month included. On most entry- level plans, stepping out of a monthly data bundle can be

Choosing the Right Solution expensive. Therefore, careful planning of current and fu-

There are numerous mobile satellite service (MSS) op- ture communications requirements is imperative to avoid erators available with new services being launched on a ‘sticker shock.’ It is also recommended to block speci? c regular basis that can help resolve these issues. However, data services on cell phones and laptops via satellite. The even within these major players’ product portfolios, the app or update blocking can be handled through a commu- myriad options available can prove expensive, if not cho- nications management device, providing both the auto- sen carefully. Additionally, there is a difference in the user mated switching between the LTE and satellite equipment. experience between land- and satellite-based communica- A communications provider offering a full suite of con- tions. For example, the time lag for the round trip of a nectivity solutions and products might be the ticket for satellite radio signal can range from 600 to 2,000 millisec- those operators looking to upgrade or increase their com- onds (ms), compared with less than 50 ms for terrestrial munications capabilities. Impartial advice on the most ap- communications. The download and upload speeds are propriate package for your requirements, preventing bill also signi? cantly slower than that of land, making video shock and helping you decide on a communications pack- streaming dif? cult. age that best ? ts your needs, is the ? rst step to also improv-

Within the MSS world, there are a few well-known stal- ing your bottom line.

warts that Speedcast partners with to provide ef? cient and cost-effective solutions; namely, Inmarsat, Iridium and

Globalstar. With its ? fth generation of geo-stationary sat- ellites providing global coverage, Inmarsat can be an at- tractive option for adding satellite capabilities to an inland

As the Commercial Maritime Product vessel. The most appropriate satellite terminal for inland

Director of Speedcast, Dan Rooney is re- shipping is the Inmarsat Fleet One. Providing coastal cov- sponsible for the innovation and delivery of erage with voice and data services up to 100 Kbps, Fleet products to the commercial maritime sector.

One is an attractive entry level satellite terminal, with low www.marinelink.com MN 91