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Ship Equip VSAT customers use 19.7 Gigabytes per month
NORWAY: Maritime satellite communication is fast rising. A survey into the Ship Equip customer base shows that 770 ships using the satellite broadband system Ship Equip VSAT increased its monthly data transmissions from 9,1 Giga Bytes per ship per month in April 2009 to 19.7 GigaBytes per ship per month in April 2010.
We have seen this trend for a long time, Fleet Manager Frank Bjoernsen says. A few years ago customers were more cautious and only deployed a small number of PCs when the SEVSAT satellite communication was installed. One in the wheelhouse, one in the machine room and maybe one in the mess. This has changed for a number of reasons. Many customers are installing WiFi networks and allow a higher number of PCs on board, both for operational and personal use. One reason is they have deployed on-board IT systems that require to be online with the land office. Problem solving by sending pictures of damaged equipment to vendors has become a popular way of getting acceptance of the problem and a quick response from the suppliers. Others file applications for port access and complete procedures to comply with environmental requirements before entering restricted waters. To ensure bandwidth for operational use the networks can be split in an operational and a crew network with separate bandwidth allocations.
The initial caution was due to their previous experience with pay by the Megabyte type solutions that quickly could accumulate a high communications bill Mr Bjoernsen says. Now they experience that the SEVSAT bill stays close to fixed, only varying slightly according to telephone usage, which with rates starting at 0.08 USD does not add a lot to the fixed bill. Besides, a lot of ships have limited the telephone to operational use and letting the crew pay for the their personal use through the Prepaid Crew Calling solution from Ship Equip. That way the monthly cost for all practical purposes stays within a narrow window Bjoernsen adds.
When you look at the figures in detail the ships are really not paying much for what they get with SEVSAT: At 19.7 GigaByte and a typical monthly bill of USD 3500 the price per MB corresponds to paying the very low 0.175 USD or seventeen and a half cent. Although we see a shift towards 256 Kb/s and have a number of contracts that go into the Megabits, the largest proportion of our customers have the 128Kb/s-128 Kb/s contract and still communicate 10 – 15 GB per month. So the growth in data transmission volumes are not attributed to high bandwidth users raising the average Mr Bjoernsen states.
With the higher usage we have added capacity to our networks Bjoernsen continues: We monitor bandwidth usage and when the utilization reaches 70% within a segment of ships using SEVSAT satellite broadband we add more bandwidth to always have a margin for growth and to handle peaks. After all we want to make sure customers get what they are paying for he concludes.
Frank Bjoernsen is Fleet Manager at Ship Equip Group and is in charge of keeping the network operative at any time. Here he is overlooking the various status monitors showing satellites, land lines and traffic statistics for selected segments.
Global Maritime Satellite Communications Market Passes $1 Billion in Revenue
Euroconsult, the leading international research and analyst firm specializing in the satellite and space sectors, today forecast that the number of satellite communications terminals aboard commercial and private ships will more than double over the next decade as demand for bandwidth on the high seas continues to surge.
In a new report, “Maritime Telecom Solutions by Satellite: Global Market Analysis & Forecasts,” Euroconsult provides an in-depth view of the dynamics determining growth in the maritime sector, along with analysis and forecasts for the maritime satcom market. The report also offers a detailed review of the merchant shipping, fishing, passenger ship, leisure vessel and offshore segments. The breakdown between MSS and VSAT is explored through each of these sections.
“Increasing onboard bandwidth requirements are driving the maritime market in a direction that is beneficial to satellite communications,” said Pacôme Revillon, CEO of Euroconsult. “Real-time monitoring, remote diagnostics, maintenance, route planning and electronic port declaration are just a few of the applications generating huge capacity demand at sea.”
Euroconsult said the number of terminals used for global maritime satellite communications grew at around 11% in 2009, while wholesale capacity revenues from the sector increased more than 15%. The total size of the market reached about 295,000 active terminals in 2009 that generated more than $1.3 billion in revenues at the tier-1 service provider level. Established MSS services and the emerging VSAT business both contributed to the overall growth of the maritime satellite communications market.
Despite a drop in global maritime activity due to declining economic conditions, increasing demand for operational bandwidth aboard ships as well as Internet connectivity required by crews and passengers have been driving growth. One VSAT provider cited in the report said customers’ monthly data transmission per ship increased from 9.1 gigabytes in April 2009 to 19.7 gigabytes in April 2010.
The global market has been growing rapidly since 2005, with a 14% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in satellite capacity revenues; nearly 4% CAGR in the equipment sales; and 8% CAGR for the global tier-1 service providers.
The fastest growth – 24% annually since 2005 — has been for VSAT services. While VSAT services are not compliant with safety communications needs, they are the mainstay of crew communications and satisfy the increasingly demanding passenger communications needs aboard cruise ships and luxury yachts. Traditional MSS services that operate in the L-band at lower data rates than VSAT terminals (using the C- and Ku-bands) still allow for smaller and cheaper equipment and remain important for safety communications and regulatory obligations. MSS accounted for 97% of the maritime terminals in 2009, but only 52% of service revenues. Euroconsult projects that by 2020, the VSAT market will account for the majority of satellite-based maritime communications revenues generating close to $1 billion in revenues for service providers in 2020.
The report also suggests that the proliferation of new Ka-band based services, which allow much faster upload and download speed than either traditional VSAT or MSS, could expand the maritime market further. Inmarsat, the largest MSS operator, has recently announced the contract for a new constellation of three Ka-band satellites planned to be operational by 2014/2015.
Euroconsult predicts that the maritime satcom market will grow at a healthy rate over the next decade, but not as rapidly as in recent years. Total maritime satcom terminals are expected to grow at a CAGR of about 6% over 2010-2020 while maritime satellite service provider revenues should grow at around 4% annually over the same period, with revenues somewhat impacted by decreasing equipment revenues.
SkyVision Launches Local Hub in Nairobi for VPN Service
SkyVision Global Networks LLC, a leading global provider of IP connectivity over satellite and fiber optic systems, is pleased to announce the launch of their new local hub in Nairobi, Kenya to support SkyVision’s virtual private network (VPN) solution.
SkyVision VPN is a satellite-based virtual private network service that allows organizations to connect their WAN sites, making it possible to share information and collaborate via voice and data applications. The new local hub in Nairobi enables SkyVision to provide low-latency solutions, connecting corporate headquarters to the hub by terrestrial link, thus ensuring optimal function of enterprise applications.
In addition to enhanced enterprise collaboration, SkyVision’s VPN service over the new local hub offers corporate customers a scalable solution that easily keeps pace with network growth, along with customized solutions supported by the company’s attentive local presence.
“SkyVision’s VSAT-based network is more cost-effective than any alternative on the market, simply because it offers the best combination of price, reliability and management control,” said Mark Gazit, President & CEO of SkyVision. “The issue of latency is critical to enterprise effectiveness. Local hubs for corporate enterprise solutions – along with local customer support – represent a key element of SkyVision’s broader values and strategy.”