Richard Deasington, director of vertical markets for iDirect, says the market for VSAT communications is expanding rapidly as vessels require a growing number of business applications. “Traditionally, deploying VSAT required large antenna systems and costly installations. Today, that’s no longer the norm, especially with the introduction of smaller Ku-band systems that are making VSAT affordable for a majority of the 200,000 vessels currently deployed. Getting to this point, however, required some important technology innovation. While smaller antenna systems can reduce the time and cost of a VSAT installation, the smaller antenna aperture transmits a broader beam, which can cause interference on adjacent satellites. The solution to this is a technology called spread spectrum. It’s a way of lowering the spectral density of the energy the antenna transmits.”
     iDirect’s Evolution X5 remote router, a high-end commercial terminal, supports inbound direct sequence spread spectrum. The X5 can spread the energy by a factor of 2 or 4 times for maritime applications and 8 or 16 times for high-speed vehicle or aeronautical applications. Automatic beam switching also is incorporated into the X5 remote, allowing a vessel crossing an ocean to automatically switch from one satellite beam to another as it nears a new satellite footprint. The iDirect Global Network Management System maintains the vessel’s same IP address even as it moves from one teleport to another.
     Data Technology Solutions (DTS), a global satellite service provider based in Breaux Bridge, La., has launched a satellite service aimed at maritime market using iDirect’s platform. Seamless global coverage will be achieved by using Telstar’s T11 and GE’s GE 23 satellites for the majority of open ocean coverage. The platform allows end users to select antennas from Sea Tel, Intellian, and Azimuth, all on one network. DTS can provide dedicated bandwidth to a fleet of vessels rather than selling discreet satellite circuits to each vessel. The pool of bandwidth is dynamically assigned, allowing more bandwidth to be assigned to anyone vessel for high throughput applications, such as HD video transmission. The extra bandwidth can be returned to the pool after the transmission.
     Drawing heavily from its oil field experience, the DTS team has made improvements in the packaging of a broadband VSAT system, building a communication skid which can be shipped to a port via overnight delivery service anywhere in the world. Because it is lightweight, the unit can be flown via helicopter and installed while a vessel is at sea and under way. “Our skid mount design allows the vessel owner to order a communications package when they need it and ship if back when they are finished. They no longer have to come into port just to have a VSAT installed,” says president Michael Guidroz. The DTS Global Connect skids can be equipped with point-to-multipoint microwave, allowing companion vessels within a four-to-five mile radius to use the bandwidth from the VSAT. “Our microwave solution is more secure because you need matching sets of radio gear just to receive the signal. None of the major oil companies will allow their traffic to be transmitted over shared Wi-Fi networks,” he says.
     DTS Global Connect supports a wide range of terminal sizes. “If the real estate is available, you will want to utilize a large antenna,” Guidroz says. “On a 200-foot ship, we can usually find the room we need for an install. You don’t want to use a 60-centimeter terminal just because it is cute. You use the small terminals on smaller vessels when there isn’t a lot of room. We are excited about the 60-centimeter market because there are many more smaller vessels than large ones. 60-centimeter terminals will allow many maritime companies to take advantage of broadband VSAT for the first time.”
    Iridium has been making steady gains in market share in the maritime sector over the last several years with low-cost satellite phone and low-rate data terminals around the world. Iridium OpenPort was unveiled in late 2008, with beta tests and full market rollout in early 2009. While there are higher-bandwidth solutions on the market, offering full-speed Internet connectivity for sending very large files, surfing the Web, uploading and downloading photos and video clips, and playing online video games, this comes at a price. Iridium OpenPort fills an important gap by providing a higher bandwidth alternative that meets the real-world requirements for the great majority of ships with low capital investment and airtime costs — providing a rapid return on investment.
     It is noteworthy that some shipping companies with very high data requirements are opting for VSAT as primary communications, and also pairing it with Iridium OpenPort as backup, providing global coverage when the ship is outside VSAT footprint. Significantly, Iridium is the only mobile satellite service that provides complete coverage over 100 percent of the Earth’s surface, including the extreme polar regions, which are assuming increased importance for shipping (Northwest and Northeast Passages are opening for seasonal shipping), fishing (many of the most active commercial fisheries are in Arctic and Antarctic waters), and oil and gas exploration. The Iridium OpenPort terminal has three independent voice circuits and a separate data port with scalable data rates from 9.6 to 128 kbps. The Iridium OpenPort antenna has no moving parts, since it does not require the stabilized pedestal needed for pointing to geostationary satellites. This translates into lower hardware costs, greater reliability and less maintenance.
     Broadpoint, a Houston-based global telecommunication provider, offers both fixed and stabilized VSAT solutions to maritime and energy concerns around the world. However, in the Gulf of Mexico, where Broadpoint also operates a mobile wireless network, the company offers an interesting hybrid approach, bundling fixed VSATs with its GSM/GPRS/EDGE network. The fixed VSATs provide reliable communications while a rig is drilling and the GSM/GPRS/EDGE network provides communications while under tow. By eliminating the cost of an expensive stabilized platform, Broadpoint can provide broadband services at a more economical rate. “The Broadpoint hybrid solution is what makes us unique in the Gulf of Mexico,” says Errol Olivier, president and CEO. “The mobile wireless network supported by a C-band infrastructure is very reliable especially during inclement weather, unlike the rain fade experienced with Ku-band satellite.” This hybrid approach of fixed VSAT and GSM/GPRS/EDGE network allows Broadpoint to offer a different solution. The GSM/GPRS/EDGE network also is used as emergency backup to the stabilized satellite solutions.