Connexion, Teekay Agree to High-Speed, High Seas Internet Test

Connexion by Boeing and Teekay Shipping will this month launch a maritime trial of the Connexion by Boeing service over the North Atlantic. "Affordable broadband on our ships will allow us to explore business solutions and services that have previously not been feasible," said Graham Westgarth, president of Teekay Marine Services. The Connexion by Boeing maritime solution — 2.5 Mbps to the vessel and 256 kbps from the vessel - is touted as much faster than options currently on the market today. As ships at sea increasingly utilize communication tools to facilitate the efficient operation of ships, this capability will allow users to access the Internet and firewall-protected corporate intranets, send outgoing e-mails or open large attachments from incoming e-mails and get the news, weather or destination information."This service brings new choices to the maritime market, offering previously unavailable productivity strategies for owners to manage their fleets," said Sean Schwinn, Connexion by Boeing vice president of Strategy and Business Development. "The maritime solution leverages the existing satellite and ground-based network Connexion by Boeing has established and will bring the same capabilities for robust, high-speed connectivity to the maritime industry."