The British satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat aims to make waves in the maritime market Fleet Xpress
The world of communication technology is moving at a fast rate. Bringing the maritime community up to date with the[ds_preview] needs of the modern sailor and making vessels more efficient through the use of latest technology, has been at the forefront of development for communications provider Inmarsat with it launch of its Fleet Express.
Fleet Xpress is the next step up for communications on board vessels and also for vessel operators, bringing what we now consider »the normal« in communication on land with our phones and ipads to the maritime industry. The company says that with Fleet Xpress, Inmarsat will be able to offer uninterrupted Global coverage and provide a platform for which applications (Apps) like we use on our communication devices at home will also now be supported.
The development of mobile technology has accelerated over the last 10–15 years, with further demand on bandwidth because the need for coverage and also our own personal need of the technology through the Apps that we use with our own personal device.
Inmarsat’s president Ronald Spithout highlights the development of the growing need in the market: »What you see is a growing expectation and a growing need. 10–15 years ago a lot of the satellite operators were thinking about GSM and cellular technology as a kind of threat. Actually a lot of people were saying ›Well with a growing roll out of GSM and cellular there’s not a lot of need for satellite anymore.‹ On the contrary what it did, it created a big expectation.«
The big expectation has seen cellular coverage and bandwidth grow as the demand on mobile data kept increasing –along with our apparent need for Netflix, which Spithout says soon got us in the situation where »we are completely addicted to these things [mobile phones].« »As a result we are finding ourselves in a kind of spiral of ever growing need of bandwidth, regardless of where we are,« he adds.
The development of Fleet Xpress will add another level to the Inmarsat package that will cover a higher bandwidth, which will allow the maritime community to access high data speeds through the combination of its Global Xpress Ka-band technology and FleetBroadband L-band service. Adding to this, Fleet Xpress will also be backed up by Fleet Broadband to ensure total coverage and no downtime for users. »The difference between GX and FX is that on Fleet Xpress we are combining both constellations onboard,« notes Spithout.
Not only will broadband connection be quicker through Fleet Xpress it will also allow the maritime community to develop and access Apps, to provide not only better communications, but also enhance vessel operation through its Inmarsat gateway, another layer to it offering.
Through the gateway, Inmarsat says that it will be able to offer application triggered bandwidth. »By stepping over to applications it allows us to look at which applications trigger the traffic and if needed we can invoice that portion of the traffic to the application provider rather than the vessel and this is one of the fundamental changes we will see happening in shipping,« explains Spithout.
By introducing a platform that is more App-friendly the benefits for shipowners and operators will be seen in operational efficiency, crew welfare and costs. Spithout comments that through Apps, procedures such as engine monitoring, planned maintenance and even telemedicine can also be accessed more easily, without the need for a high cost through the different packages Inmarsat offers with the service.
However, even with all this new technology out there driving us towards more Internet usage, there is still the concern about Cyber Security. To combat this, Inmarsat has announced that it has recently signed an agreement with Trustwave (part of Singtel) to provide a cyber security service onboard as part of the company’s standardised infrastructure that users get with Fleet Xpress.
Samantha Fisk
