In relation to the service launch of Fleet77 by Inmarsat on April 10, 2002, Thrane & Thrane is has started shipping Capsat Fleet77 products to its partners and distributors worldwide. "We have now been shipping Capsat Fleet77 systems to our distributors for a couple of weeks in order to enable them to demonstrate the product to the end users from the beginning of the service period" says Kim Bille Gram, Maritime Sales Manager, Thrane & Thrane.
"We are pleased to be able to provide Capsatâ Fleet77 terminals to ship owners all over the world. Our Capsatâ Fleet77 systems have at this stage been tested onboard 7 different ships, which have been sailing in all ocean regions. These ships range from large container carriers to
small fishing vessels. We have been fortunate to do the testing during the winter period. This has given us the opportunity to test the equipment in extreme weather conditions, for instance during the heavy storms in the North Sea and North Atlantic in January" he continues.
During the test period it has been verified that all services are active in all ocean regions. The services, which have been tested, are Mini-M Voice, Audio 3.1 kHz, Speech, ISDN and MPDS.
Capsatâ Fleet77 is extensively smaller and lighter than the conventional terminals, meaning that installation and maintenance have become easier to do, less time consuming and cheaper. With it's height of 85cm, diameter of 84cm and weight of 25kg, Capsatâ Fleet77 is a major step forward for the maritime industry compared to competing products like Inmarsat A and B terminals.
Capsatâ Fleet77 offers both voice and data traffic. Especially the data part has been improved significantly. Data communication between vessels and ashore can be done with either 64 kbps ISDN or 24x7 online access based on MPDS (Mobile Packet Data Service Protocol). MPDS is a revolution in maritime communication with its always-online possibility. It turns a vessel into a true office at sea changing ship management and vessel operation of the future. Where ISDN connections are charged by the minute MPDS access is paid by the quantity of data sent and received.