Intelsat launched its new Network Broadband Global Maritime service, the latest addition to its GlobalConnex portfolio, as well as the signing of a multiyear distribution agreement with oilfield-services provider Schlumberger.
With Global Maritime, Intelsat is bringing new levels of bandwidth capabilities to the maritime industry. The largest provider of fixed-satellite services claimed that its new offering is well-suited for maritime-fleet management and oilfield-service providers seeking global data and voice connectivity regardless of their fleet or maritime structure location.
Utilizing Intelsat’s global satellite C-band capacity, the Network Broadband Global Maritime network operates at rates up to 2 megabits per second, with the initial service offering continuous communications with high-powered bandwidth rates from 128 kilobits per second-512 kbps. In addition, Network Broadband Global Maritime offers always-on broadband access that provides customers with continuous bandwidth for a fixed monthly fee.
In addition to its industry-leading bandwidth rates, Network Broadband Global Maritime incorporates: an integrated automatic-beam-switching system, which seamlessly transfers service between the satellites and maintains a site’s Internet session while the vessel is underway, eliminating the need for complex and costly manual intervention such as the repointing of antennas; and a global-network-monitoring system, which offers customers the ability to monitor all remote locations from a single monitoring site at any location desired by the customer.
The requirements of companies managing vessel fleets and maritime infrastructures desiring efficient connectivity worldwide were the driving force behind these design features, according to Intelsat, which is on the auction block and has received bids from several companies, including a joint offer from Liberty Media and EchoStar Communications.
Intelsat will market this maritime-communications solution to the maritime and oil and gas industries via a select group of distribution-service providers, which will then be responsible for customer network management, application support and installation and maintenance of remote terminals on vessels or structures.
Schlumberger signed a multiyear agreement to distribute Intelsat’s Network Broadband Global Maritime service to the oil and gas market. Schlumberger enables oil companies to connect their offices to remote drilling and production operations to support collaborative decision-making through shared access to information applications and networks.
The Network Broadband Global Maritime platform uses capacity on three ocean-region satellites: IS-605 at 174 degrees east, IS-707 at 307 degrees east and IS-906 at 64 degrees east. Likewise, primary hubs at Intelsat’s teleports of Fuchsstadt and Riverside and backup hubs of Intelsat’s Mountainside and Atlanta teleports round out the seamless global network unrivaled by other offerings in the industry.
