Web Surfing News

Satellite-based connectivity has always played a critical role for the maritime sector. As the communications expectations of ship owners, passengers and crews continue to grow, maritime service providers are seeing a transformation in the type and quantity of applications that need to be supported at sea. The advent of VSAT broadband services is driving a shift away from traditional, low-level L-band connections that ship operators have relied upon for decades. VSAT services are preferred to respond to the demand for high-speed broadband that can support bandwidth-intensive applications.

The U.S. National Security Agency chief called on Wednesday for an "open, reliable and safe" Internet governed by international rules akin to the Law of the Sea, while deflecting critics who say NSA spying has undermined public trust in the cyberworld. Admiral Michael Rogers spoke a few days after the U.S. Senate rejected a bill to extend spy agencies' bulk collection of Americans' telephone records, putting the programme in doubt shortly before its expiry on June 1. Addressing a cyberwarfare conference in Estonia, Rogers adopted the diplomatic language of a grassroots online governance activist, hailing the Internet's openness and value as a shared, public good.

Logica, the global solutions company, announced it has secured a GBP 6m contract to help develop future higher bandwidth satellite communications for global mobile satellite communications provider, Inmarsat Limited. This contract forms part of an over GBP 30 million programme with Thrane & Thrane, a leader in the market for satellite communications equipment, to build the satellite interface and other equipment that will allow Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (B-GAN) services due for launch during 2004 to be transmitted to and from terrestrial networks. Currently Inmarsat operates its Global Area Network (GAN) service which supports data speeds of up to 64 kbit/s, almost seven times faster than speeds offered by current GSM networks.

Stratos Global Corp. announced the availability of Mobile Packet Data Service (MPDS) for Inmarsat Fleet F33, bringing the benefits of always-on connectivity and data- transmission-based billing to smaller maritime vessels, including leisure, fishing, and coastal patrol boats. Stratos is the first Inmarsat service provider to formally announce the launch of this significant enhancement to Fleet F33. MPDS for Fleet F33 features persistent connectivity at speeds up to 64 kbps incoming from the satellite and up to 28 kbps outgoing from the terminal. This always-on, higher-speed option is particularly suited to IP-based data applications, such as Web surfing, intranet access and e-mail.

Selecting a "Technology-of-the-Year" for the June 2002 Yearbook edition of Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was no small task, and a decidedly unscientific one, at that. There were no editorial boards, voting slips, gala dinners or plaques. Simply put, the editors of MR/EN arrived on Satellite Communications technology as the centerpiece of its largest edition based on observation, discussion and analysis of the companies that have develop, supply, test and purchase the products and services that fall under its broad category.Words alone cannot summarize the technological revolution that has swept the world during the past decades. Consider for a moment a world without the Internet, e-mail or seamless, high-capacity communication links.

MR: What are the top three or four factors driving your offerings to the marine business today? Norton: Maritime customers across the board want increased bandwidth that will enable IP applications — from e-mailing to Web surfing and data downloads. Commercial maritime companies are also focusing on ways to make their satellite communications at sea a "business enhancer" in order to make their ships "floating extensions" of the company's LAN or WAN. At the same time, we are also seeing a decisive move by ship management companies to cut operating costs and selecting communications solutions that they can both use as a business tool on board the vessel and a way to improve crew morale and welfare…