Page 83 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2019

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Inmarsat Launches Fleet LTE Service in the North Sea

Inmarsat, the world leader in global mobile satellite coverage area. Service transition between LTE and VSAT is fully
communications, will extend its service portfolio for customers automated, with routing depending on data needs and network
with the launch of Fleet LTE, following an agreement with subsea conditions, while vessels only need to add two LTE antenna and
fiber and offshore LTE network operator, Tampnet. The new service a modem on deck to enable the upgrade, which can be rented or
which is primarily aimed at offshore support vessel operators, but purchased. “Inmarsat Fleet LTE also comes without hidden costs
could also be used by fishing and ferry operators operating in the and offers owners plan flexibility to support business demand
area, leverages low-latency, high data speed communications from third parties,” said Griffin. “Owners can choose from various
available via a dedicated Access Point Name (APN) on the LTE plans up to 40 Mbps, upgrade and downgrade between
Tampnet North Sea LTE network and could be extended to other packages without additional fees, and choose separated dedicated
regions such as the Gulf of Mexico if successful. Inmarsat’s new bandwidth plans for charterers.” Inmarsat continuously seeks
Fleet LTE service means customers can access high speed 4G, network solutions that best serve its customer base; recovering
Fleet Xpress maritime VSAT Ka-band and continuous L-band offshore market conditions have been persuasive in driving the
connectivity within a single, fully managed hybrid package. value-added LTE proposition. “As a service provider also offering
“Inmarsat is a leader in a market that has significant untapped failsafe connectivity via L-band for reasons of maritime safety,
potential for Tampnet’s premium LTE services, and we are really guaranteeing resiliency and performance whether vessels are on
pleased to add such a great company to our list of partners,” said station or moving to/from shore are first principles for Inmarsat,”
Tampnet CEO, Per Helge Svensson. “Inmarsat provide services Griffin comments.
to large fleets of offshore vessels that fall in our LTE network
footprint. The North Sea is a natural starting point, but we are
also keen to explore how we can work with Inmarsat in other
regions where Tampnet is present such as the Gulf of Mexico.”
The unique ‘three-in-one’ offer delivers 4G and VSAT Ka-band
and L-band without the complication of dual billing or the risk
of connectivity drop-off. “As demand for data continues to grow,
especially in the realm of high-stakes decision-making where real
time action is needed, such as for remotely operated vehicles or
securing details on seabed conditions, low-latency LTE bandwidth
and satellite connectivity play crucial roles,” said Eric Griffin, VP of
Offshore and Fishing, Inmarsat Maritime. Agreeing its own APN
means Inmarsat can guarantee customers access to LTE services
enabled via Tampnet’s 3,000km subsea fiber network. “Being able
to exploit business-critical decision-making tools helps operators
to cut non-productive operational time,” adds Griffin. Inmarsat
Fleet LTE is available in a range of service bands that deliver data
speeds of up to 40 Mbps with Round Trip Delay of around 35-40ms.
However, when LTE is not available, services automatically switch
over to Ka-band Fleet Xpress committed information rates, with
continuous back-up from L-band FleetBroadband. Meanwhile,
connectivity via FleetBroadband continues even outside the LTE

SpaceX Announces Second Starlink Satellite Launch in Two Weeks

SpaceX has announced its second planned December mission will be followed ‘v1.0’ satellites and third dedicated launch
Starlink satellite in two weeks, sticking to a by another Starlink launch in January overall; the company has announced
trend that could see the company launch 2020. This tracks almost exactly with that that late-December mission will be
more than a thousand communications SpaceX’s reported plans for as many as 24 followed by another Starlink launch in
satellites over the next 12 months. dedicated Starlink launches in 2020, a feat January 2020. This tracks almost exactly
Barely two weeks after SpaceX opened that would singlehandedly break SpaceX’s with SpaceX’s reported plans for as many
media accreditation for Starlink-2, the current record of 21 launches performed as 24 dedicated Starlink launches in 2020,
second launch of finalized ‘v1.0’ satellites in a single year. Barely two weeks after a feat that would singlehandedly break
and third dedicated launch overall, the SpaceX opened media accreditation for SpaceX’s current record of 21 launches
company has announced that that late- Starlink-2, the second launch of finalized performed in a single year. Incredibly, if

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