Maritime vessels rely heavily on satellite for communications out at sea. Photo: Bridget Coila (Flickr)

[Via Satellite 06-09-2016] SpeedCast International and South Korea-based KTsat have together received a new contract to provide global Ku-band maritime communications services to up to 150 maritime vessels. The service will be installed over the next 18 months.

SpeedCast has provided KTsat customers with access to its global satellite telecommunications service network for the past six years. KTsat, a regional operator, has intentions to enter the global market in the coming years. The company has two satellites pending launch, with the first scheduled for November this year, and the second in early 2017.

“We saw a great momentum from our partnership that our Koreasat satellite fleets in Korea and in the Asia-Pacific region have been growing over the past few years,” said Shin Kyushik, CEO of KTsat. “SpeedCast has been providing an extensive infrastructure for providing this seamless connectivity for maritime data, video and voice communication services, and put in continuous effort to improve and augment the coverage, capacity and capability in its maritime communications solution.”