t is widely accepted that internet connectivity on land is faster
and cheaper than at sea. Quite obviously so, considering the
infrastructure requirements for maritime broadband and
physical limitations of satellite communication. However, there is
one area where maritime users get the same or even better service
than on land; flexibility through customisation. If a temporary speed
boost is desired for a specific reason on land, this would require
a specialist service provider, as it is a capability not offered by
mainstream service providers.
At sea though, the ability to boost bandwidth for certain
time-frames is quite commonplace. On a daily basis, an offshore
support vessel may require a 256 Kbps downlink and 256 Kbps
uplink, for operations and crew welfare facilities. But when a charter
client has very specific requirements for a project, there may be a
need to temporarily increase the bandwidth available on board.
Service provider Marlink, the company behind the introduction of
VSAT (very small aperture terminal) communication services on
maritime stabilised antennas in the early 1990s, has offered this
flexibility to its clients for several years already.
For example, the company temporarily increased the VSAT
internet speeds aboard the Simon Møkster Shipping-owned
Stril Server
multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV). The company
runs a fleet of 23 advanced offshore support vessels that are
connected to shore and each other using VSAT services. The extra
communications technology
TORE MORTEN OLSEN, MARLINK, AND TERJE GJERDE, SIMON MØKSTER SHIPPING, DISCUSS
EVOLVING FLEXIBILITY IN MARITIME COMMUNICATIONS.
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