Iridium Certus News

Two award-winning skippers are attempting to circumnavigate the globe westabout against the prevailing winds and currents in 122 days to break the current world record.The Use It Again! duo, Romain Pilliard and Alex Pella, commenced their voyage from Lorient, France on January 4, setting sail aboard an 18-year-old refurbished trimaran, in an attempt to help promote and develop the circular economy. The skippers are sailing aboard Ellen McArthur's legendary B&Q Castomara, which…

Iridium Communications Inc. announced the commercially availability of its Iridium Certus 100 "midband" service for maritime, land mobile, IoT, aviation and government customers. Iridium Certus 100 provides a blend of capabilities for satellite connectivity, enabling small, low-profile antennas and battery-powered devices designed for maximum mobility, but with IP data speeds that efficiently support sending important pictures, emails and other vital information from remote places…

Offshore installation and dredging contractor Jan De Nul Group has moved its entire fleet of 82 units to Castor Marine’s global VSAT and Iridium connectivity network on a long-term contract.Castor Marine will provide global VSAT internet and Iridium L-Band services to the entire fleet of almost 80 dredgers, offshore construction vessels, crane vessels, and (environmental) support vessels.Castor Marine said Tuesday it had migrated 98% of the fleet within 3 months after contract signing, with up to 6 migrations a day.

KVH Industries, Inc., announced that Greek shipmanager A.M. Nomikos has chosen KVH AgilePlans to provide VSAT connectivity for crew welfare and vessel operations. Nova Electronics, KVH’s service partner in Greece, has installed TracPhone V7-HTS antennas on three Nomikos vessels to date and is expected to continue the rollout of KVH’s AgilePlans service on additional vessels within the fleet in the coming months.“Crew welfare is very important to our company, and we expect the fast data speeds of the KVH systems and the reliable HTS network will be a great benefit to our seafarers and our shipping operations,” said Yiannis Sofianidis, IT Director for A.M. Nomikos.

Ireland headquartered ship owner and charterer Arklow Shipping has contracted communications solutions provider Satcom Global to install Aura VSAT across 17 newbuild vessels due for delivery from 2021 onward.The new vessels will be activated on a range of Aura service packages, all with Committed Information Rate for guaranteed service quality, and companion options to suit their different sailing patterns. Ten new C-Class vessels will benefit from unlimited Ku-band connectivity with 4G back-up to complement their short sea shipping requirements and operations close to shore.

The Coast Guard Research and Development Center (RDC) teamed up with Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s crew this summer to evaluate five technologies as part of the RDC’s annual Arctic Technology Evaluation. The Campbell crew conducted the evaluations during their two-month deployment supporting joint Arctic operations off Greenland’s western coast, returning to their Kittery, Maine, homeport on Sept. 29, 2020.“Testing various technologies by cutter crews for operation in cold and Arctic environments provides highlights on what works and what may need improvement…

Touting strong RF performance, Intellian said its newly launched C700 Iridium Certus maritime terminal can deliver out-of-the-box uplink speeds of 352kbps and downlink speeds of 704kbps by default, with equally impressive low-elevation-angle RF efficiency thanks to its unique 12-patch phased array antenna technology. It will support three high-quality, low-latency phone lines simultaneously; and as a solid-state antenna with no moving parts inside, the C700 is especially robust…

Cobham SATCOM has announced the launch of its latest software upgrade for SAILOR 4300 L-Band, the first terminal in Cobham’s portfolio of Iridium Certus Connected range solutions. The unveiling of software solution 1.05 follows the delivery of more than 2,000 SAILOR 4300 terminals within the first year of service and enables users to upgrade to the new Iridium Certus 700, which offers data speeds of up to 704 kbps. Launched in 2018, SAILOR 4300 L-Band is a highly reliable link to the low-latency…

KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq: KVHI), has announced that the Iridium Certus service is now available from KVH as a companion for KVH’s TracPhone mini-VSAT Broadband systems. Iridium Certus is a next-generation L-band solution providing pole-to-pole global coverage and featuring small-form-factor, cost-effective antenna terminals. KVH’s VSAT systems include the TracPhone HTS-series, which provide data speeds as fast as 20/3 Mbps (down/up) to meet the connectivity demands of today’s commercial maritime vessels and global-voyaging superyachts.This companion solution…

Iridium launched its Iridium Certus broadband service for commercial customers, the first new capability activated from the company’s $3 billion Iridium Next satellite replacement program.Iridium Certus is a platform designed for the development of specialty global broadband service applications, offering on-the-move internet and voice access, the mobile voice and data satellite communications network that spans the entire globe said.The service enables mobile office functionality for deployed teams and two-way remote communication for assets, autonomous vehicles, trains, aircraft and ships at sea. This also includes safety-of-life services…

Iridium Communications Inc. announced today that KDDI Corporation, Navarino and NSSLGlobal Ltd., are the newest Iridium Certus service providers for the maritime industry. Iridium Certus will offer a L-band satellite broadband connectivity solution.With higher speeds, state-of-the-art small form factor terminals and competitive pricing options, Iridium Certus will offer a complete communications platform for all mariners and can serve as a primary service or VSAT companion solution.

Marlink is unveiling a unique and intelligent threat detection solution for the maritime industry at SMM 2018 this week.Cyber Detection, the latest addition to Marlink’s fully integrated ship and shore-based Cyber Guard portfolio, monitors all outbound and inbound network traffic around the clock and enables customers to view threats affecting their vessels through an intuitive, web-based dashboard. In addition, customers may also set-up notifications on critical threats to be received by email and/or SMS.

As the global maritime industry increases the level of automation and ship-to-shore connection, the move toward autonomy is gaining steam in certain sectors. While it is generally agreed among industry insiders that full autonomous operations on ships traversing the world's oceans is a generation or more away, there are some significant strides being made on shorter, point-to-point inland and coastal routes, as well as evolving the technology in a manner that automates onboard systems to help reduce crewing and workloads.

The SMM 2018 scheduled to take place September 4-7, 2018, in Hamburg, Germany, is held every two years and is the traditional launching platform for a variety of commercial shipping and shipbuilding technologies. Five new marine technologies to look for in Hamburg include:Digitalization & Autonomous SolutionsCompany: Kongsberg MaritimeBooth: B6.104Product: Digital transformation and autonomyKongsberg Maritime will show innovations in its operational, digital and seaborne transportation systems including autonomy and hybrid solutions at SMM 2018.

NSSLGlobal has signed a Service Provider agreement with Iridium Communications Inc. that will see NSSLGlobal offer the new Iridium Certus L-Band service as part of its portfolio of maritime satcom offerings to its extensive customer base. Iridium Certus will be offered both as a standalone L-Band service and in conjunction with NSSLGlobal’s premier VSAT IP@SEA service as its preferred service assurance offering. The Iridium Certus service is suitable for vessels across the maritime spectrum, from recreational yachts and workboats to commercial fishing trawlers and merchant vessels.Iridium Certus will initially offer speeds of up to 352kbits but by early 2019 this will double to 704kbits ensuring that the service will be the most global and fastest L-Band satellite solution available.

Iridium Communications Inc. announced that seven additional service providers have signed agreements to provide the Iridium Certus service for maritime applications. Globecomm, Network Innovations, Pivotel, MVS USA, IEC-Telecom, MetOcean and Samsan Enterprise Company now further broaden the base of Iridium’s distribution for its next-generation L-band broadband service. These seven companies will play a critical role in delivering what will be the fastest and most competitive L-band satellite broadband solution to the maritime industry, enabling a truly global “connected ship” environment. This announcement comes shortly after Iridium became the second-ever recognized service provider for the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS)…

Iridium Communications announced that, SpaceX successfully launched the fourth set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch marks the midway point of the Iridium NEXT launch program, and was the first Iridium launch to use a SpaceX flight-proven rocket. The first stage booster for Iridium-4 was previously used for Iridium-2, making Iridium the first company to reuse the same rocket booster. Each launch strategically delivers new satellites to specific orbital planes, so that the complete Iridium NEXT constellation will be operational as soon as possible after all launches are complete.

Iridium Communications Inc. announced that two key milestones along the path to becoming the second recognized provider of Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) services have been reached. During its 98th session this past June, the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) adopted new performance standards for GMDSS equipment and approved amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Treaty, which pave the way for Iridium to become a recognized GMDSS service provider. Now, the key remaining step in the approval process is an IMO resolution recognizing Iridium as a certified GMDSS mobile satellite service provider. Iridium expects this will be completed during calendar year 2018, with Iridium GMDSS service to begin in 2020.

Iridium has launched 10 of its Iridium NEXT satellites US aboard a SpaceX rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. This payload of 10 satellites was deployed into low-Earth orbit, approximately one hour after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg, at 1:25pm PDT (20:25 UTC). With this launch complete, there are now 20 Iridium NEXT satellites in orbit, establishing the infrastructure for groundbreaking technologies such as Iridium Certus and Aireon's space-based Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) aircraft tracking and surveillance service. Iridium Certus is poised to disrupt industry norms by enabling truly global L-band satellite broadband speeds through smaller, more cost-effective antennas.

Cobham SATCOM has unveiled its first Iridium Certus Connected terminal at Nor-Shipping 2017, the SAILOR 4300. Due to go live in the first half of 2018, Iridium Certus is a new portfolio of global satellite services powered by Iridium NEXT, a second-generation L-band global satellite constellation established to deliver an uncompromising solution for the future of global maritime communications. The SAILOR 4300 is a Broadband Core Transceiver (BCX) type terminal, offering a highly reliable link over the Iridium NEXT satellite network with speeds suitable for data-heavy applications including…