Maritime
Connectivity in the Maritime world
Wherever we go, even in the most remote locations, we are expecting to be connected to the world and in permanent 24/7 contact with loved ones, professional relations, information sources and online services.
The global adoption of smart portable devices has revolutionized the way we communicate on a permanent basis with our surroundings. We are no longer expecting communication when it become available, we want it here and we want it now.
Over the last few years this evolution has been especially true in the maritime world. It has become increasingly more difficult for commercial shipping companies to attract new (younger, tech savvy) crew without near offering them permanent data communication.
The luxury yacht world, once the summum of being disconnected from the world, has now fallen prey to the omnipresent multi- and social media connections by all age groups.
Not only have we become almost permanently connected to the internet but we have been with multiple devices at the same time and at ever increasing speeds.
Welcome to the maritime digital highway.
Maritime Connectivity comes in many shapes and sizes, from hand held VHF units to huge C-Band VSAT terminals. Each maritime specialization has its own specific pool of applications and requirements.
Choosing the right application will improve communication x-fold and does not necessarily require increased operational expenses. Within the ever evolving communication market there is always some improvement to be achieved with newer and more efficient technologies.
At Satmarin we realistically follow all new technical evolutions and centralize these for your application requirements.
Improving operational expenses means a continuous research into better processes and profitability and we are by your side to assist you in achieving that objective.
What are your requirements?
Choosing the right combination between bandwidth requirements and link reliability is the first and greatest challenge when selecting a datacommunication solution. Different ships will have different requirements and to make the right decisions these requirements should be quantified properly.
“High bandwidth” or “High Availability” will mean different things to different people (even on one-and-the-same vessel) so getting the numbers right can will avoid frustration when implemented.
How much bandwidth is enough ?
The simple answer is “it’s never enough”. The ship, crew, clients, owners will always need/want more bandwidth. Whether it is to avoid the NetTube or YouFlix buffering icons for 5 seconds or having to wait 5 hours for the survey data to be transmitted … it will never be enough.
Below is a chart indicating the bandwidth requirements per simultaneous device needed for the service to function properly. As you can immediately see the needed bandwidth for streaming data high to very high when viewing in anything over SD.
The consolidation of some of the largest global satellite providers has created an opportunity for small and medium sized solution providers to be more attractive. Always ask for what YOU specifically want/need, and don’t settle for a standard package you might not completely require. The market is at a crossroad where flexibility is key.