Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company, and Teekay Shipping Corporation signed an agreement to launch a maritime trial of the Connexion by Boeing service over the North Atlantic beginning in August 2004.
"Teekay is a proven leader in the maritime industry and we are thrilled at the opportunity to demonstrate the value that affordable real-time, high-speed connectivity can bring to their operations at sea," said Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson.
"It has been exhilarating to work with the world's leading aviation manufacturer. What is more exciting however, is the ability to trial their high-speed Internet service at sea solution," said Graham Westgarth, president of Teekay Marine Services. "Affordable broadband on our ships will allow us to explore business solutions and services that have previously not been feasible."
The Connexion by Boeing maritime solution – 2.5 Mbps to the vessel and 256 kbps from the vessel – is much faster than the most commonly deployed narrowband maritime communications systems available today. 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. Through Connexion by Boeing's open architecture, the maritime community will have a universal selection of applications, new networking solutions and services focused on improving fleet productivity and safety," said Sean Schwinn, Connexion by Boeing vice president of Strategy and Business Development.
"Supplying the high-speed connectivity capability of Connexion by Boeing to maritime vessels is a natural complement to our commercial airline service. 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," Schwinn said.