Maritime partner perspectives

Maritime VSAT : iDirect Partner Profiles

Partner Profile: GlobecommExperience + Expertise Make the Difference

Leadership and VSAT in Maritime

“VSAT is moving from being perceived as an exotic, high-end solution for high-end markets to a more affordable service for the general merchant market. “

Malcolm McMaster

President, Globecomm Maritime

Describe your maritime offering. How you differentiate your service?

Globecomm Maritime provides a comprehensive suite of applications designed to enhance operational efficiencies, crew experience and, of course, safety at sea. As a technology agnostic company, we distribute all major VSAT and L-band satellite services, in addition to GSM and WiMAX connectivity.

We serve all major marine and offshore segments, from small owners to large offshore operators. Today we see that the customers most interested in VSAT are the ones whose application requirements have exceeded their existing L-band packages due to demand from crew usage, as well as business communications and operations. Often, it’s the ‘All-you-can-eat’ appeal of VSAT that is more important than the throughput speed.

When it comes to our principal differentiators, I would point to our focus on value-added hardware/software solutions and consultative customer approach. These have been designed to enable owners to control consumption of bandwidth and allocate it to crew, charterers and other parties. Our solutions include split billing, built-in PayPal, and universal email.

In addition to being one of the very few providers that owns and operates its own teleports and global fibre optic network, we have just made a significant investment in upgrading our global VSAT network to the latest iDirect system.

All of our services are backed up by a combination of state-of-the-art network operations centre in Europe and North America, staffed by trained professionals and backed up by the best and most experienced engineers in the industry, with 24/7 ‘Follow the Sun’ service.

What are the key trends you see that are advancing the maritime VSAT market?

It all begins with price. Both hardware and bandwidth costs continue to come down making the service more affordable. In addition, satellite operators have been investing heavily in new capacity designed for and promoted to the maritime market, including high throughput services. VSAT is moving from being perceived as an exotic, high-end solution for high-end markets to a more affordable service for the general merchant market.

Service differentiation will be big trend to watch as we move forward. With so many service providers in the maritime market, most with access to the same space segment, the model of simply selling bandwidth will not be a sustainable one for the long term. At Globecomm, our philosophy is to continue investing in both technology and people that allow us to have the best possible offerings. Doing so means that we can truly make a difference for our customers.

How do you see the maritime end customer market evolving over the next 3 years?

Simply put: The evolution will continue. Very high-end High Throughput Satellite (HTS) systems are coming on stream and VSAT will take an increasing share of the market, with L-band continuing to provide the maritime backbone for many users.

Competition for end users may lead to some price erosion, but owners will still need expertise and experience to help them understand the options available and how to make the most of the equipment and services they have.

Tim Lajza

Director of Sales, Maritime

Partner Profile: Harris CapRockDelivering ‘Always-On’ VSAT for Maritime

Please describe your maritime offering. How do you differentiate your service?

At Harris CapRock, we specialize in the complete integration and service of communications, entertainment, navigation and other IT systems for the global maritime market. We are the single-source provider for customers’ wireless, terrestrial and supporting infrastructure requirements. Harris CapRock’s future-proof architectures and industry-leading network availability is redefining ‘always-on’ for the cruise industry. We have the largest inventory of satellite capacity in the world, and today we operate one of the largest iDirect maritime mobility networks in the world.

What are the top end customer business drivers for VSAT service?

Harris CapRock serves maritime customers in the cruise, commercial shipping, energy, and government markets. We are seeing different business drivers related to these markets. Let’s take the cruise segment, for instance. It’s been well document that guests and crew onboard these ships are expecting the same connectivity experience at sea as they have onshore. We see the driving factors of this trend being things like social media and video streaming. On the operational side, it’s the demand for having access to critical admin data, which facilitates streamlined operations and enhanced monitoring capabilities.

As another example, commercial shipping is being driven by the need to access operational information. Data such as electronic charts, safety data, and system diagnostic data along with crew welfare services are the primary drivers for this market segment.

And in energy, oil and gas companies operates a digital oilfield, where a myriad of sensors, networks, and all types of communications are linked and leveraged to improve operational performance, efficiency, and safety. At Harris CapRock, we are helping to make that vision a reality for operations onshore and offshore by delivering capabilities that enable down-hole sensors, autonomous systems operations, remote monitoring and control, enhanced crew living standards, and real time data analytics.

How do you see the maritime end customer market evolving throughout the next three years?

The end customer market will drive a need for cost effective unlimited bandwidth delivery mechanisms and services. Bandwidth requirements per site will grow significantly as high definition video demand increases, the Internet of Things enables continued operational productivity improvements, and social media further expands across the maritime market.

For global maritime operating companies, they will continue balancing connectivity spending to business objectives and tangible measured results. These results can span from an improved guest satisfaction rating for a cruise line to improved operational efficiency or safety incident rate for an exploration and production operator in the energy market.

Looking ahead, Harris CapRock is in prime position to enable any demand that customers may have for their business. For example, the recent development and launch of Harris CapRock One addresses the future operational requirements of our maritime clients and aligns with market trends. Harris CapRock One is the industry’s most intelligent communications service which monitors for and adopts the best available satellite, wireless or terrestrial network. It possesses embedded network intelligence, allowing advanced routing decisions to be made based on geographic location, application and regulatory restrictions. Its future-proof architecture and industry-leading network availability is redefining ‘always-on’ for the cruise industry.


Please describe your maritime offering.

Inmarsat Maritime, part of Inmarsat plc, enables essential communications to the maritime market through an unrivaled portfolio of products and services. Thousands of vessels of all types and sizes rely on our unparalleled reliability, functionality and global reach. Our maritime portfolio includes FleetBroadband, FleetPhone, IsatPhone Pro, Safety and Regulatory services, XpressLink and the world’s first hybrid L-band and Ka-band service - Fleet Xpress.

Our new Fleet Xpress service, the maritime version of Global Xpress (GX), will be the vehicle to deliver the level of connectivity and value-added services increasingly being demanded at sea. It packages the Global Xpress VSAT service with our FleetBroadband solution to deliver a high speed, high capacity network that is also highly mobile and reliable.

How do you differentiate your service?

We are introducing our fifth generation of satellites, GX. It’s the only global, Ka-band VSAT service on the market, and provides seamless, high throughput coverage to over 98% of the world’s population. Our satellites can dynamically allocate capacity where we need it, with steerable beams that can place additional capacity into a region. It also features access to our L-band constellation for reliable back up.

GX features a single topology and a single operator contract. Historically, with traditional maritime VSAT services, in order to procure global coverage, maritime customers have had to work with different service providers with different network setups. With Inmarsat, that’s not the case. We’re making it easy for our customers to do business with us, both from a cost and a service perspective.

With GX, we’ve built a platform called the Inmarsat gateway. It enables third-party suppliers such as engine manufacturers or soft-bridge providers to build applications that interface with the Inmarsat network and provide their own value-added services to ship owners and managers.

Rather than buying bandwidth, customers are instead looking to transact and capture data to run applications – which will ultimately determine how much bandwidth they require. Adding this application layer enables Inmarsat to provide more value.


Given the decreased number of crew aboard vessels over the past decade, we expect to see the first unmanned vessel in the not too distant future.

This will necessitate ships having various sensors and equipment onboard that communicate with the shore in real-time. This opens up a range of opportunity, such as manufacturers monitoring engine performance, maritime companies accessing data to ensure optimum performance and more.

The communications service onboard is no longer simply to support a one-to-one relationship between a ship owner and service provider. Instead, multiple companies will want to access that service and encapsulate the cost of bandwidth into their respective solutions.

That changes how we view ourselves as an operator. The Fleet Xpress service will include a smart box onboard the vessel that can partition different data streams for specific applications, understanding exactly how much bandwidth specific applications require. It could have the ability to ‘burst’ for applications like real-time streaming and videoconferencing, offering the ability to increase capacity alongside need with a supporting pricing structure.

Today we’ve moved beyond the digital ship and into the concept of the connected ship. New technology will be used to improve operating costs, reduce environmental footprint and the overall efficiency with which goods are transported around the world.

Drew Brandy

SVP, Maritime Market Strategy

Partner Profile: Inmarsat Global Xpress (GX) Meets High Demand At-Sea


Our newest expansion to our maritime services portfolio is IntelsatOne Flex: an enterprise-grade, wholesale Mbps service with tiered Committed Information Rate (CIR) plans that allows service providers to offer unique and tailored services. IntelsatOne Flex service will enable service providers to maintain control over their network by allowing them to continue to manage the customization, contention and prioritization of end-user terminals without the overhead of multiple network builds and inefficient use of bandwidth.

In addition, they will be able to streamline the management of capacity for geographic expansion and surge, providing flexibility across multiple satellite beams and resulting in a more predictable cost structure directly matched to revenue generating activities.

By simplifying the aggregation of HTS and traditional wide beam capacity into a single product, along with the ability to customize the Quality of Service for “wholesale Mbps” procured on a region-by-region basis, customers will be able to minimize operational costs associated with network infrastructure and focus instead on product differentiation, value added services and revenue growth. And of course, with reduced capital expenditures and the elimination of unnecessary bandwidth overhead, IntelsatOne Flex lowers a service provider’s total cost of ownership.

With IntelsatOne Flex, maritime service providers can easily integrate the benefits of Intelsat EpicNG into their own architecture while avoiding major capital investment. Importantly, the flexibility, reliability and scalability of IntelsatOne Flex will allow service providers’ network infrastructures to evolve with changing technology needs and stay competitive over the long term. This will enable these users to focus on capturing emerging revenue opportunities and, delivering growth and efficient operations.

What can you share about your future strategy for delivering value to maritime distribution partners?

The future looks very exciting for Intelsat. In the upcoming months, we will begin launching our next generation High Throughput Satellite (HTS) fleet, Intelsat EpicNG. With the design of this spacecraft, we are delivering a significant increase in throughput for our customers. And that helps them to power their critical applications, not to mention improve the economics and performance of new applications in their vertical markets.

Leveraging the performance of our new satellite platform, Intelsat is also investing in new, metamaterials-antenna technology, which will simplify access to our satellites and open attractive new markets for our solutions. Flat, thin, light and low-cost satellite tracking antennas are being designed to work seamlessly with Intelsat’s satellite fleet, and will enable quicker Ku-band antenna installations for the maritime market.


The commercial maritime market has been enjoying solid growth rates, and is predicted to continue growing at a CAGR of 7.61%, according to Infinity Research. If you look at that from the perspective of our distribution partners, that means being able to focus more on a range of value-oriented activities, including sales, R&D, faster installations and expanded strategic initiatives.

However, these service providers are facing fierce competition, which means that they must find creative ways to differentiate their service offerings and applications to meet the increasing bandwidth needs for the maritime market.

With the trading routes and associated bandwidth demands of ship operators constantly evolving, this can put our service providers into a vicious cycle of continually buying new satellite beams and reconfiguring their networks. HTS can drive lower economics for satellite bandwidth, but incorporating HTS into their infrastructure increases network complexity and financial resources.

Mark Rasmussen

Vice President, Americas

Partner Profile: IntelsatIntelsatOne Flex Powers On-Board Applications


Michel Verbist

Director, Business Development – Satellite and Maritime Solutions

Orange Business Solutions

Please describe your maritime offering and how you differentiate your service.

Orange Business Services is uniquely positioned in the maritime market, integrating vessels into the corporate virtual private network (VPN), enabling real-time business. What this means for maritime customers is that they have access to their corporate network from any remote site, on and off shore, accessing the MPLS cloud via a satellite connection. With the largest international MPLS backbone in the world, Orange is able to provide end-to-end Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

We offer a unique proposition that combines satellite and terrestrial VPN solutions. As key differentiator, Orange is able to optimize switching platforms from VSAT to 3G/4G and vice versa.

We primarily serve customers in commercial shipping and oil and gas with offshore platforms. Regardless of the market segment, however, customers share demand for three things: crew welfare, reducing total cost of ownership, improved efficiencies.


The maritime market itself is growing fast with an average annual growth rate of 13,9%. In particular, the APAC region represents 33% of this market. Starting with basic applications, the maritime VSAT market will have to address the growing need for applications by shipping companies in order to bring those shipping companies into the 21st century. So the trend is set towards VSAT, and we expect that, like on terrestrial fiber networks, the shipping industry will be relying more and more on the VSAT for adding new applications that will be driven by the business requirements.

Advancements in the industry like High Throughput Satellites (HTS), and the development of smaller antennas or future flat Phased Array antennas are all rapidly changing VSAT, and that allows us to provide faster, smarter and more powerful solutions with less amount of hardware on board.

How do you see the maritime market evolving throughout the next three years?

Over the next three years the end-customer will expect to benefit from such technologies as HTS with improved cost-savings solutions and enhanced crew welfare applications on board. Additionally, there will be an overall larger portfolio of value-added services that includes applications like telemedicine, vessel management, and more.

The demand is also focused on global coverage to ensure constant connectivity for moving vessels. Orange brings the unique expertise to meet these demands through features like Automatic Beam Switching, which provides gobal connectivity with no manual intervention across multiple satellite footprint and mutiple teleports.

We see the ongoing transformation to the digital ship and the ripple effect it will have on the need for more data on board ships. Beyond the basic connectivity, a larger portfolio of value-added services in general will be critical at sea. This includes applications like telemedicine, vessel management, and more.

Our recent release Maritime Connect is a single, integrated solutions platform, which delivers voice, VoIP, data and Internet access in one solution. Developed as part of a European Union initiative dedicated to improving communications on vessels at sea, Maritime Connect can deliver unified services in limited bandwidth and challenging weather conditions, both significant factors in maritime.

Partner Profile: Orange Business SolutionsThe Ripple Effect of the Digital Ship


For the past 10-15 years RigNet has had a successful track record serving customers in the energy business. We have differentiated ourselves in this space by providing a high level of customer service, from IP-layer system management to regional service and support deployments matched to the needs of oil and gas customers. This dedication has helped RigNet build a strong track record, and a reputation for performance in challenging environments.

We are now extending our global connectivity and value-added services to Energy Maritime vessels involved with support and services for rigs and oil fields. This aligns with our core expertise and established leadership in oil and gas.

In terms of product differentiation, we see the energy maritime market being much more mature than other segments. This is where the legacy history, knowledge and technology of RigNet will certainly come into play. Customers in this particular market are normally experienced satellite and communications users with higher requirements for bandwidth as well as service levels than the general commercial shipping market. This fits well with RigNet’s tradition of delivering well proven products and high level services for our customer’s critical usage of communications within the oil and gas market.


If you look back roughly 15 years ago, there was one antenna option in the market. That had a direct impact on pricing, service quality and efficiency; preventing service providers from being able to effectively provide a solution.

Fast-forward to today and what you have is a market in which multiple providers are mass producing smaller, cheaper antennas at larger volumes, which benefits the entire market. Companies like iDirect have also helped by providing service providers with the opportunity to penetrate various market segments with even greater efficiency.

The advent of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) will further accelerate the opportunity to create solutions that offer customers even better pricing, efficiency, and quality.

Vessel owners and their customers are driving the demand for improved voice, video, and data connectivity. Let’s take business applications, for example. With VSAT, a vessel can operate like an office, with videoconferencing and networked software solutions running from ship to shore, all with a high level of security in place.

Furthermore, smart vessels being built today are becoming increasingly reliant on remote services to be operated efficiently. Most market segments in the overall maritime market today are turning to VSAT for things like crew welfare. Together, these advancements are creating a very bright future for the maritime VSAT industry.

Looking ahead, the potential impact that new developments like HTS satellites and 4G/LTE services will have on this market you see the role of VSAT continuing to evolve in combination with these new technologies and services. The ability to understand the ever-changing demands of customers and create a solution that meets such demands both today and in the future will be the key to success.

Partner Profile: RignetEnabling the Office At-Sea

Morten H. Hansen

Senior Vice President, Business Services & CTO Maritime Rignet


Piers Cunningham

Vice President of Maritime Services


SpeedCast is focused on delivering real-time, always-on, unlimited connectivity with worldwide coverage for all segments of the maritime market, with a primary focus on Oil & Gas, Commercial, Offshore, Navy, Research and Yacht segments

Currently our service is on C-band and Ku-band, but we are also exploring Ka-band. Our global Ku-band network dates back to 2008, making it among the first focused on connecting vessels at sea.

One truly distinguishing factors for SpeedCast is the fact that as an independent service provider we can use the best satellite beams for every coverage zone. This allows us to deliver high-quality and cost-effective maritime solutions to our end-customers. Looking at the demands of top customers we are seeing an unstoppable need for robust, assured bandwidth solutions – at a fixed monthly cost. This is where VSAT provides its value – while it is more costly to install than legacy L-band solutions, the returns in operational capability and fixed price economics are lower and assured throughout the life of the VSATs operation.

What can you share about your future strategy for delivering value to maritime service providers or end users?

Obviously, there is a great deal of buzz surrounding such new technologies as High Throughput Satellite (HTS), new frequency bands, such as Ka-band, and new equipment such as flat-panel arrays. SpeedCast prides itself on being technology and frequency agnostic. In fact, we already provide service on the major frequencies and offer one of the broadest range of antennas on any network. Once a technology, frequency or equipment has proven to be of value, we are often on the cutting edge of adopting these innovations in order to meet our customers’ needs.


There is a great saying, which I think applies to how we see the future of this market: “Ask a futurist what the future will look like in three years, and he will likely tell you it will look pretty much like today.”

We anticipate a continuation of the trends that we are seeing today: Increasing demand for data, a continued migration from older L-band technologies to VSAT services, and the proving of HTS services in the marketplace. Through it all, SpeedCast will continue to focus on the fundamentals of our business, to deliver exceptional value and reliability to our customers.

Partner Profile: SpeedCastMaking Technology-Agnostic Connections

While (VSAT) is more costly to install than legacy L-band solutions, the returns in operational capability and fixed-price economics are lower and assured throughout the life of the VSAT’s operation.

Julian Crudge

Divisional Director, Network and Data Services

Please describe your maritime offering.

Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) delivers a portfolio of satellite-based communication services to major maritime/offshore and mobile satellite service providers. Our reputation is for delivering high quality, reliable and available services that focus on providing excellent customer service- validated during a recent customer survey in which we achieved a new record for consistently delivering service excellence.

TSBc is a regional satellite provider and delivers services to customers throughout Europe and the Middle East. Specifically, we provide unique coverage over the Norwegian and Barents Sea up to and beyond 75 degrees North, that few other providers are able to cover.

The main vertical segments we serve are Oil and Gas, Ferries, Cruise, Yachting, Fishing and Regional shipping. Our customers use VSAT for a number of applications including HD video streaming, VoIP, GSM, remote server access using Citrix applications, remote surveillance by webcam, apple TV, data transfer, telemedicine, telemetry, crew and passenger internet access, weather information, chart downloads.


For maritime, the level of bandwidth demand continues to grow daily. We do not anticipate this slowing down, given the development of more data-hungry applications . In general, customers want the same level of connectivity at sea that they are experiencing on land. Additionally, remote VSAT installations are becoming more auto-configurable particularly with the new Open AMIP and Open BMIP technology, which help makes installation and fault finding easier.

In addition, the development of dual band antennas will make users more band agnostic, ultimately providing more choice. Smaller antennas, enabled by the latest High Throughput Satellite (HTS) technology will also open up the VSAT market to a greater number of potential users.


I believe that in the next 3-5 years VSAT will become less bespoke and more mainstream. Access technologies will start to become more standardized, reliable, and easier to install. Customers will be less concerned with what technology is used to deliver and more interested in what they can do with the service. As a consequence, applications offered by service providers will be an important element in driving future market demands.

As a result, TSBc will continue to develop HTS technology in Ku band and Ka band to deliver competitive and reliable satellite Internet services to our resellers. We will focus on selling through resellers that will deliver tailored value-added services, such as telemedicine, e-learning, video conferencing and VoIP solutions to the end users customers. In the future we will look to expand our coverage areas and will continue our commitment to both frequency bands for satellite communication applications.

Partner Profile: TelenorMeeting Demands of Data-Hungry Vessels


Tore Morten Olsen

Head of Maritime Satcoms Marlink

How do you differentiate your maritime service?

The Marlink service is differentiated through our technology agnostic approach. Essentially, our services provide high bandwidth data connections for broadband Internet at sea, enabling the platform to create private networks within fleets and shore offices, as well as access to the web and specialist IT applications used to improve vessel operations and reduce costs. The bandwidth we provide also enables high quality, cost-effective voice calling, which is a must for crew and for the management of a vessel.

Our connectivity is delivered across a multitude of carriers and satellite networks, which means we can choose the best configuration for any vessel or fleet, based on specific requirements and main areas of operation. We offer services based on Ku-, Ka- and C-band VSAT, in addition to L-band MSS (FleetBroadband and Iridum Openport), 3G, 4G, LTE, Wi-Fi and regional specific services. We can combine all of these different communications services into a single seamless package, where the system can automatically define what is the best available and least cost service for any specific time.

Many of our customers utilize the XChange communications management platform, which can switch between service types and provide a wealth of management functionality. For instance, the XChange Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) service enables crew to use their own devices, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops on board for voice and data communication. XChange also provides in-depth crew account management, which helps the Master and management to deliver an effective communications service to crew on board by removing a significant amount of administration.


Commercial transport ships are getting more focused on operational efficiency, through the use of such applications as online monitoring and condition-based maintenance (CBM) applications. Our connectivity is used to enable a wide range of applications designed to enhance fuel efficiency, reduce harmful emissions and significantly approve equipment servicing processes and costs. The aim is to reduce cost by being more efficient so we are seeing a shift from satcoms being perceived as a cost to being viewed as an investment. We can show clients that a move from L-band MSS to VSAT can pay for itself very quickly, and going forward will enable much greater vessel and fleet efficiency through the use of the new generation of IT solutions designed to improve operations.

What can you share about your future strategy for delivering value to maritime service providers or end users?

We recently launched the SMARTconnect service, and believe that it is somewhat representative of our future strategy. The system is a new approach to vessel communication services designed for users of Marlink’s customized Sealink VSAT services. It’s a ‘hybrid’ solution that seamlessly combines multiple communication carriers to provide the best available link based on pre-defined parameters set and managed by the customer. With a service delivery independent of specific carriers, cost can be reduced and greater flexibility and control provided for the customer.

SMARTconnect introduces a scenario where the actual communication carrier isn’t in focus for the user. It integrates Ku-, Ka-, C- and L-band satcom services with 3G/4G LTE, Wi-Fi and Tampnet LTE to provide one unified link for the ship owner. Further carriers or new technologies can be easily added to the solution. For example, the recent agreement between Marlink and the North Sea focused LTE provider Tampnet will ensure that the multi-carrier approach of the new hybrid solution can better support the large customer base of Marlink in the North Sea.

Our on-going strategy also holds our commitment to offering high levels of customer support, anywhere in the world. Reflecting this is the Field Service Alliance, a customer support program established to ensure round-the-clock, global availability of installation and troubleshooting services by experienced, well equipped maritime VSAT specialists.

Partner Profile: MarlinkSMARTconnect Provides Maritime Intelligence