Intelsat 29e. Photo: Intelsat

[Via Satellite 3-18-2015] Airbus Defence and Space and Intelsat announced that their strategic agreement concluded in 2014 has yielded value for end-users and is setting the course for more maritime customer advantages as part of a transition to Intelsat EpicNG High Throughput Satellites (HTS). Stimulating market demand, the partnership resulted in connecting more than 600 vessels with Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) communications in 2014. This included shipping companies such as Stolt, CMA CGM, Scorpio, and DOF, and represented a doubling of Airbus Defence and Space’s maritime VSAT sales over the previous year.

One year ago, Airbus Defence and Space and Intelsat announced a strategic agreement to introduce improved maritime VSAT offerings to the marketplace. The agreement was to enable Airbus Defence and Space to bridge its existing maritime VSAT services to the Intelsat EpicNG HTS platform, the first of which, Intelsat 29e, is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2016.

Since that announcement, the companies have made strides toward enhancing existing VSAT services for Airbus Defence and Space’s maritime customers while ensuring the combined offering is “EpicNG ready.” The agreement secured Airbus Defence and Space’s access to Intelsat’s global Ku-band satellite capacity and terrestrially managed network, IntelsatOne.