Mobile Network News

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed to mark bilateral cooperation and digital innovation in maritime technologies between German and Latvian public and private sector partners to address challenges in port infrastructure management in the Baltic Sea.The signatories include LMT, the Freeport of Riga, the Port of Hamburg, the Electronic Communications Office of Latvia, the Fleet of Hamburg, and LVR Flote.The objectives of the memorandum are twofold: to identify the key challenges in the port and maritime sector…

Thuraya has responded to strong demand from the maritime sector and distributors by launching the MarineStar, an affordable maritime voice solution with advanced two-way tracking and monitoring capabilities.Designed by the world’s most innovative provider of mobile satellite communications, the MarineStar is Thuraya’s new flagship voice terminal for entry-level maritime users. It is based on the same successful platform as other Thuraya voice hardware that have sold in excess of 1 million units to date.

Extension of broadband communication of key importance to digital change in maritime shipping, said shipowners and pilots in Germany’s coastline.Against the backdrop of the extension of mobile communications networks planned in Germany, the German Shipowners’ Association (Verband Deutscher Reeder – VDR) and the German Federal Chamber of Pilots (Bundeslotsenkammer – BLK) issued a joint communiqué calling for urgent improvement of mobile network coverage in German coastal waters.Maritime broadband communication in the North Sea and Baltic Sea was the topic of a symposium jointly held by the Maritime Cluster Northern Germany (Maritimes Cluster Norddeutschland e.

Communications technology and services developer Rock Seven said it has partnered with Blue Sky Network, a provider of mission-critical, satellite-based fleet management, tracking and operational analytics solutions serving private, commercial and government customers worldwide.This long-term cooperation will support growth in Blue Sky Network’s maritime strategy, but additionally has ramifications for clients in the aviation and land sectors.Headquartered in San Diego with a wholly-owned subsidiary in Brazil…

Hamburg Port Authority has joined forces with Deutsche Telekom and Nokia to test 5G applications at the Port of Hamburg. "Testing of 5G is to commence in an industrial environment in the Port of Hamburg, with the Hamburg Port Authority, Deutsche Telekom and Nokia commissioning an 8000-hectare area with which to carry out key tests of various aspects of 5G functionality, including network slicing," said a press release. 5G will be tested with use cases like traffic lights management, data processing from mobile sensors and virtual reality. To provide connectivity, an antenna has already been installed on the Hamburg television tower at a height of more than 150 meters. The primary focus of the project is on testing 5G applications in an industrial setting in the Port of Hamburg.

The launch yesterday of  the Intelsat 29e, the first of the Intelsat EpicNG high throughput satellites, promises to usher in a new era of "Big Data" in the maritime sector, among others. The satellite was launched from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle. Manufactured by Boeing and equipped with advanced digital payload, Intelsat 29e will bring high throughput capacity in both C- and Ku-band to North and Latin America and the North Atlantic region. Intelsat 29e will be placed into service at 310° East, where it replaces Intelsat 1R.

There’s a digital disconnect offshore. The communication standards we take for granted on land are cut adrift at sea; hampering data transfer for businesses, while severing individuals’ lifelines to social media networks. What’s to ‘like’ about that? Frode Støldal, CEO of MCP, has had enough. “We think it’s time for a new mobile communications reality,” says a steely eyed Frode Støldal from his seat at the Offshore Technology Days conference in Bergen, Norway. “The offshore community suffers…

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced several new initiatives to improve connectivity in the Port of Singapore, including a new 4G mobile network built in collaboration with M1 Limited. The MPA and M1 also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together in promoting this 4G technology to shipping companies operating within Singapore port waters, to increase connectivity in an effort to improve operations and crew welfare. Both organizations have also committed to research and testing of new technologies to improve the network in the future. Dubbed ‘Smart Port’, the initiatives range from the installation of 4G broadband access in Singapore port waters for the maritime community and for vessels in Singapore port waters…

Statoil has chosen Maritime Communications Partner (MCP) to deploy and operate its high speed 4G-network on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Statoil and MCP have signed a six-year contract with an option to extend for another four years. With that, MCP will immediately start building the world’s largest 4G network at sea. Statoil will benefit from high-speed mobile coverage on all of its 34 platforms on the NCS. This will improve communications between platforms, rigs and supply-vessels.

General Dynamics C4 Systems - built Warfighter Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 2 Soldier Network Extension (SNE) continues evolving with new capabilities based on soldier feedback and mission-centered innovation. In April, soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division were assigned to an observation point during the Afghan elections. The soldiers drove a SNE to their mission location near a polling place and used the SNE as a hotspot to connect their laptop computers, radios and other equipment to the tactical network for voice, chat and email communications, including situational awareness information, directly from their area of operation.

Wang Jing, the enigmatic businessman behind Nicaragua's $50 billion Interoceanic Grand Canal, shrugs off scepticism about how a little-known entrepreneur can be driving a huge transcontinental project, insisting he's not an agent of the Beijing government. "I know you don't believe me," said Wang, who reckons that he's forked-out about $100 million in canal preparation work, and is burning as much as $10 million a month on the project. "You believe there are people from the Chinese government in the background providing support. High-ranking Chinese officials including President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and former leaders Jiang Zemin and Wen Jiabao have all visited the state-connected wireless communication technologies company Wang took control of four years ago.

Maritime Communications Partner (MCP), the Telenor-owned on-board communications specialist, has announced the launch of VAVE, a unique digital business enablement platform for the cruise and ferry industry. The news follows the successful completion of an eight-month technical trial on the Corsica Sardinia vessel Mega Express Five. VAVE (Value Added Voyage Experience) has been conceived to bridge the digital divide between land and sea mobile behavior. By utilizing a vessel’s GSM signal and Wi-Fi network it creates a ship-wide onboard cloud that all mobile devices (smartphones…

Innovative maritime electronics manufacturer, Martek Marine, releases its one-of-a-kind ECDIS offering to the market today. Named the iECDIS, Martek’s is the first model to integrate a GSM modem, offering automatic download and installation of charts, updates and notices to mariners, reducing the administrative burden associated with CD updates. The GSM modem uses a mobile network signal to keep iECDIS up to date anywhere with mobile signal, even downloading the most recent piracy warnings and weather forecasts which can be instantly overlaid on the chart display itself.

Maritime Communication Partner (MCP) has been contracted by DeepOcean to provide state-of-the-art online and mobile communications for a Kleven newbuild MT6022 offshore vessel which will provide Inspection, Maintenance and Repair (IMR) services for all Statoil operated fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). This five-year IMR agreement, say MCP, commencing in Q1 2014, is worth more than NOK 1.5billion (USD 253million). MCP’s role will be to keep DeepOcean and Statoil connected.

Globalstar, Inc. announce that all second generation satellites are now in full commercial service, completing the world's most modern satellite communications mobile network. Global customer segments include: oil and gas, government, mining, forestry, commercial fishing, utilities, military, transportation, heavy construction, emergency preparedness, and business continuity as well as individual recreational users. The company's new network supports its current lineup of voice…

Intelsat S.A. entered an agreement with SoftBank Mobile Corp. for the provision of managed network services in Japan. SoftBank Mobile signed a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement using capacity on Intelsat 8 at 169º East and the fully managed IntelsatOne terrestrial network. SoftBank Mobile will use Intelsat's solutions to complete infrastructure for cellular and data backhaul services to its customers throughout the southern islands of Japan. Additionally, Intelsat will provide local licensing support to SoftBank Mobile for VSAT terminals, certain equipment and customized operations. "Among the options available for cellular backhaul networks in the region…

Thuraya Telecommunications Company has launched its roaming service in the United States of America in partnership with the American mobile operator, T-Mobile. The service, which commenced on July 12, allows Thuraya subscribers to roam seamlessly with their Thuraya mobile numbers into the T-Mobile network that reaches 96 percent of Americans. Thuraya customers in the region can now make and receive calls, and also send and receive text messages (SMS). The Company’s GmPRS roaming service will be enabled afterwards on the T-Mobile network. Mr. Tarek Shqairat, Director of Inter-Carrier Relations, Thuraya Telecommunications Company, said: “With more than 350 roaming partners worldwide, Thuraya is the only satellite operator offering roaming services over GSM networks.

Maritime Communications Partner (MCP) has strengthened its foothold in the Mediterranean through a major turnkey telecommunications contract with Corsica & Sardinia Ferries, one of Italy’s most prestigious ferry operators. The five-year contract covers Mobile Telephony, Mobile Internet, WiFi and VSAT for eight passenger ferries and plays a key role in supporting Corsica’s ongoing aims to provide crew and passengers with competitive wireless communications backed by a highly reliable quality cellular network.Corsica & Sardinia Ferries are one of the biggest operators on the Western Mediterranean Sea transporting about 3.5 million passengers annually aboard their ferries running to and from France and Italy to Corsica and Sardinia.

KVH Industries, Inc., (NASDAQ:KVHI) announced the successful activation of its mini-VSAT Broadband(SM) service in Asia-Pacific waters in collaboration with SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation (also known as SP-JSAT) via the JCSAT-1B satellite. This expansion expands mini-VSAT Broadband's capacity to support the world's commercial shipping market, with 13 of the world's 20 busiest ports in terms of cargo tonnage located within the new coverage area. KVH and SP-JSAT are also pursuing hardware and broadband airtime sales in the Asia-Pacific maritime market with SP-JSAT granted exclusive rights for sales to Japanese-flagged and Japanese-owned vessels. In addition, SP-JSAT will provide service coverage in the Indian Ocean in early 2010.

“The TracPhone V7 and mini-VSAT Broadband are changing the entire way we do business,” explained Scott H. Bryant, captain of the fishing vessel American No.1, operated by Fishermen’s Finest of Seattle, Wa. Operators and leisure boat owners are making the change from traditional VSAT solutions to the TracPhone V7 and mini-VSAT Broadband service from KVH Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: KVHI). Introduced less than two years ago, this compact satellite communication system recently shipped its 500th system, representing almost 10% of the installed base of maritime VSAT systems based on estimates in the “2008 Maritime VSAT Markets Report” published by COMSYS.

Crews on commercial oil and gas, shipping, and government vessels in the Persian Gulf now have access to affordable broadband Internet and crystal-clear telephone service throughout the region with the recent expansion of the mini-VSAT Broadband(SM) service from KVH Industries (NASDAQ:KVHI) . The new coverage area brings affordable satellite communications to a region where secure real-time communications are a necessity, via KVH's rugged TracPhone(R) V7 hardware. In addition to providing service to the KVH mini-VSAT maritime system, this expansion also extends the ViaSat Yonder(SM) mobile network for in-flight broadband to business and commercial aircraft.

Broadband Internet and telephone service is now available to vessels crossing the Pacific Ocean due to the rollout of the new Pacific Ocean Region for the mini-VSAT Broadband satellite communications service from KVH Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: KVHI). The new coverage area, which includes Alaska, the west coasts of Canada and the United States, Hawaii, and extends into Asia, is part of the KVH and ViaSat (Nasdaq: VSAT) joint effort to provide affordable mobile Ku-band broadband connections around the globe. As a result, vessels now have access to uninterrupted Ku-band Internet and voice services from the Asian coast eastward throughout North America and the Caribbean, across the North Atlantic, and all the way through Mediterranean waters.

With 1,860 miles of waterways, our neighbors to the north are no slouches in the maritime industry. In fact, Canadian maritime companies continue to offer technological and operational innovation. The Canadian coastline stretches out 151,492 miles, making it the second largest country in the world. Canada not only supports a thriving maritime industry, with exporting ships carrying timber, crude petroleum, natural gas and aluminum, but the country is also home to a variety of companies providing the means to allow these vessels to run smoothly and efficiently. In St. Catherine's, Ontario, Port Weller Drydocks is known for its extensive knowledge of engineering connecting the design, installation and testing aspects of inter-disciplinary projects.