Kymeta terminals installed atop the White Rose yacht. Photo: Kymeta.

Kymeta and e3 Systems revealed that the White Rose of Drachs yacht successfully performed the first-ever motor yacht sea trials with Kymeta communications solutions over the last several months. Kymeta and e3 Systems worked with the owner, captain, and IT manager of the White Rose to perform the months-long sea trial, and outfitted the yacht with four Kymeta KyWay terminals.

Kymeta tested the terminals with various Maximum Committed Rate/Committed Information Rate (MIR/CIR) services from maritime satellite service providers, including Speedcast, which provided service in the Mediterranean. Upon completion of sea trials and commercial release of yacht solutions, Kymeta terminals will be bundled with Kymeta’s Kalo internet access services, powered by the IntelsatOne Flex for Maritime service. The terminals can also be outfitted with MIR/CIR services from service providers like Speedcast, Kymeta stated.

The trials presented Kymeta and e3 engineers with the opportunity to identify and replace various components — both hardware and software. As a software-defined antenna technology, Kymeta KyWay terminals used at the trial were remotely given improved functionality, which was not possible before with traditional mechanically steered antennas.

“We trialed multiple terminal configurations, ranging from single panel solutions to multiple panel solutions. We experienced a few practical installation issues, many of which already have been addressed by Kymeta, and we also realized that the network systems on yachts need to be designed and configured to work in tandem with the improved throughput that Kymeta solutions provide,” said Roger Horner, managing director at e3 Systems.