Based on iDirect technology, meeting the increased demand for high performance broadband connectivity at sea, the new VSAT services aim to deliver improved coverage and services, benefitting the Astrium Services VSAT brands Sealink, Wavecall and Pharostar. Providing unlimited broadband connection at sea, VSAT terminals installed on board range from 60cm to 2.4min size. Bringing faster data transfers and cost efficient connections to maritime vessels, data throughput speeds are increased up to 3Mbps for standardized VSAT, up to 10Mbps for customized, tailored solutions via Sealink.

As of late October, geographical coverage extensions have been completed over the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), and Astrium aims to further expand over the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean by the end of the year.

Having extensive experience with the VSAT service, DND Management IT Manager Chris Tzoutzakis commented on the extended Pharostar service availability. “VSAT was the missing link to provide our department the ability to fully support the vessel for all kinds of possible issues (software and hardware),” said Tzoutzakis. “We eliminated the cost of technicians visiting the vessel for IT matters and we are able to train crew on our software via online interfaces.”

Remote fleet management via the Vizada XChange control platform allows the VSAT extension to be more efficient, and when outside VSAT coverage zone, offers can be combined with both Ku-band and complimentary MSS connectivity.