Olivier is an innovation-driven executive. During his previous 17-year tenure at what is now Harris CapRock, he took the company through significant operational, financial and innovative growth. In the following interview, Olivier explains to Satellite News how MTN’s new Nexus platform sets it apart from traditional VSAT offerings.

 

Olivier: Yes. When you look at what’s happening in the industry today, the users that are going onboard these vessels as passengers and crew are looking for the same kind of connectivity that they enjoy on land. Connectivity and content demands are escalating and these users will no longer accept limitations. They want to stream video, post their updates and vacation pictures on Facebook and share those with family with friends – even those that are with them on the same ship. More than 2 billion people are currently online via Internet devices and are using more smartphones and tablets than PCs and laptops. Social networking is the second most popular mobile application in terms of consumption per minute. So, we look at these trends and build a platform that speaks to both the modern enterprise consumer and the customers they serve.

 

Olivier: Nexus is a hybrid, next–generation communications network that maintains a balance of satellite capability and innovation. It integrates satellite with a terrestrial network and combined with throughput efficiencies, introduces a smart solution for meeting passenger and crew demand. The MTN HTMS optimization platform is based on cloud computing. It enables vessels to seamlessly roam between MTN HTMS beams and conventional Ku–beams. This collaboration and compatibility with all of these systems ensures global coverage and redundancy while reducing cost and antenna complexities. Also, the MTN service remains backward compatible with existing Ku–band satellite systems, current network infrastructure and the network topology that consumers prefer.

 

Olivier: The open architecture structure of EpicNG was very much in line with what we are trying to do. We made a significant investment in a cruise–specific, purpose–built payload that will be supported by the launch of the Intelsat EpicNG satellite constellation. We partnered with Intelsat to carefully engineer the delivery of maximum bit–to–hertz efficiency. The result was unmatched throughput and global interoperability to key cruising areas around the world. Intelsat EpicNG enables us to deliver a high-throughput multi–spot beam HTMS solution delivering up to 500 Mbps per beam in the Caribbean.

 

Olivier: After designing the network, we then worked to combine MTN’s global satellite capabilities with a terrestrial network building a near–port/in–port network using Wi–Fi, 3G, 4G, WiMAX and/or LTE. As vessels move into port, they will switch to Wi–Fi infrastructure using a sophisticated smart switching technology. As a Wi–Fi connection is established, we can then seamlessly reallocate unneeded satellite capacity back to ships at sea, maximizing capacity and affordability for cruise lines. As Simon Bull [senior consultant] from Comsys recently noted – the demand for bandwidth would never go away. The way bandwidth is managed and delivered on a vessel or fleet of vessels can simplify the delivery of smooth, reliable service. That said, the results of our integration into a hybrid, open architecture are maximized efficiencies of unused bandwidth when ships are in port and a better end–user experience as crew and passengers move from ship to shore and back on port days without service interruption.

 

Olivier: I’m extremely excited about Nexus because it is a totally different approach to VSAT. Coming into MTN, it was obvious that the company wanted to deliver a different kind of service to both the enterprise and retail customer segments in the cruise ship and maritime sector. When you look at the traditional VSAT player, the main objective is to sell hardware. With Nexus, we are going beyond that traditional role and offering a cruise ship service that delivers exactly what both the cruise ship companies and their customers have been asking for. It is ultimately driven by forward thinking.