American Queen Steamboat’s American Duchess vessel. Photo: American Queen Steamboat

FMC GlobalSat will provide its 4G/Long-Term Satellite (LTSAT) connectivity solution aboard all four American Queen Steamboat vessels, helping to enable internet broadband connectivity for more than one-thousand passengers on a daily basis. The system is currently operational aboard the flagship vessel American Queen and is being deployed aboard the American Duchess, American Empress, and will be installed aboard the American Countess shortly.

The American Queen Steamboat Company operates a fleet of paddlewheel riverboats along the Mississippi river and its tributaries, as well as on the Columbia and Snake rivers in the Pacific Northwest. Additionally, FMC GlobalSat employs the Kymeta flat-panel satellite antenna to help enhance satellite connectivity.

“For years, commercial maritime operators have been forced to depend on extremely unreliable terrestrial coverage or expensive satellite connectivity to achieve even a baseline level of data and voice communications to satisfy staff and customer needs,” said Emmanuel Cotrel, chief executive officer of FMC GlobalSat. “Our approach has been to create an intelligent service that automatically connects users with the best available bandwidth option for a particular location. Through our solution, our customers can receive more reliable coverage—with greater security—at a far lower cost.”