Speedcast News

Hurtigruten Expeditions said it will be the first cruise line to implement SpaceX’s broadband service Starlink across its entire fleet.The expedition cruise line and its long-time connectivity partner Speedcast began testing and integration of Starlink terminals on board the operator's fleet of small-size expedition cruise ships in March. Installation will be complete by end of October, making Hurtigruten Expeditions the first cruise line to introduce the high-speed, low-latency connectivity across its entire fleet…

Satellite communications technology solutions provider Intellian announced a multimillion-dollar, multi-year partnership agreement with satellite communications service provider Speedcast, enabling the companies to collaborate in serving multiple markets with satellite connectivity, including the maritime and energy sectors.As part of the agreement, Intellian will continue to provide equipment to Speedcast as a preferred supplier, ensuring delivery to meet customer needs, despite volatile supply chain constraints.

KVH Industries, Inc., announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Brent C. Bruun as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board. The Board also appointed two seasoned industry executives, David Kagan and David Tolley, as directors of KVH.Bruun first joined KVH in 2008 and has served as KVH’s Interim President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2022. He also served as Chief Operating Officer of KVH beginning in 2016, as well as Interim Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

As the shipping industry undergoes major transformation, with operations becomingly increasingly automated, maritime companies need to consider more than just efficiency and safety when it comes to operations. The current global situation has resulted in a growing demand for crew communication, for both work and social purposes, alongside the ongoing need for optimization. All of this causes higher levels of traffic on maritime networks, forcing shipping operators to place an…

Iridium Communications announced the first seven companies it has authorized to provide its Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) services, planned for commercial introduction in the first half of 2020. The seven companies, Arion Communications, AST, Marlink, Marsat, NSSLGlobal, Satcom Global and Speedcast will be the first in the industry to provide truly global satellite GMDSS service to mariners, and the first to offer a new choice in satellite network and equipment.

The global oilfield communication market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 8% over the forecast period 2019-2024, said a study.With the growing adoption of cloud-based services, oil companies are compelled to use oil field communication, said a report from ResearchAndMarkets. This keeps their offshore sites connected with the inshore site about production stats, which helps in better supply chain management.The smooth flow of materials is very important for oil companies as their profitability is highly dependent upon the turnover and downtime needs to be avoided.For instance, GE Oil & Gas, the service provider to oil and gas companies has shifted 350 of its applications to Amazon's cloud offering…

Satellite communications provider Speedcast International said it will begin to offer Intellian’s v240MT antenna to customers in the cruise and offshore energy sectors.The v240MT is Intellian’s next generation, tri-band and multi-orbit 2.4 meter antenna for use on Ku, Ka and C-band satellites. The antenna has the capability to provide Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) broadband access to virtually any satellite constellation within seconds. Intellian said the v240MT is designed to deliver data rates exceeding 1Gbps…

The 5,000th ship installation of Inmarsat Fleet Xpress, the world’s only high-speed, globally-available Ka-band VSAT service designed for mobility and available from a single operator, is set to be completed by the close of the month.Following its launch in March 2016, Fleet Xpress has emerged as the market-leading pathway to digital transformation as shipping companies seek to deliver improved vessel and fleet efficiency, boost profitability and enhance seafarer wellbeing.The latest data compiled by the respected, specialist market analyst, Euroconsult, indicates that six out of ten VSAT installations undertaken in the  first half of…

As maritime operators deal with challenging operating conditions, many are embracing digitalization as the most reliable way to lower operational costs and improve vessel efficiency.According to research conducted by Lloyds List Intelligence and Ovum, two-thirds of vessels use digitalization systems onboard. According to the executives surveyed, this is being driven by a desire to improve operating efficiency, with 88 percent already working toward that goal. As part of the process…

On rigs and offshore vessels, the safety of crew and passengers is a top priority in the energy industry. However, with the particularly hazardous environments of remote offshore worksites, accidents can happen, and it’s up to the operators to ensure their crew members are well-equipped to handle an emergency situation. One of the ways they can provide safe conditions on their assets is to invest in the newest, most advanced technologies with enhanced safety features and better automation, keeping more of their crew out of harm’s way.

Speedcast International Limited has announced two changes to its executive management team: Keith Johnson will become chief operating officer, and Erwan Emilian will lead the Enterprise & Emerging Markets division. Johnson, currently EVP of Speedcast’s Energy Division, will take over for David Kagan as chief operating officer, while also keeping his existing Energy Division responsibilities. Kagan leave Speedcast in early December for personal reasons, but will remain as an advisor to the CEO on a limited-time basis. Johnson joined Speedcast in 2014 after spending over 20 years at Harris CapRock Communications, where he held numerous senior operational roles, including heading global operations and business unit leadership roles.

Growing options emerge for ever-increasing data and Comms demand. In the United States alone, 625 million tons of cargo is transported along the more than 12,000 miles of commercially navigable waterways each year, moving vital commodities to and from 38 of the nation’s 50 states. The advent of subchapter M has raised the bar significantly for as many as 5,000 inland vessels, both in terms of safety and the need to document and more closely control this tonnage. At the same time, domestic coastal transport and offshore energy support vessels also face growing communications requirements.

Speedcast International Limited, provider of reliable, fully managed, remote communication and IT solutions, announced the release of CrewReach, a new global prepaid mobile SIM card designed with crew members in mind. Powered by a Multi-IMSI global network, CrewReach provides cost-effective access to 4G and 3G data. “Weeks and months at sea without being connected to family and friends can lead to feelings of isolation and depression for the thousands of Commercial Maritime sailors who are responsible for the transportation of goods around the globe,” said Dan Rooney, Commercial Maritime Product Director, Speedcast. “CrewReach provides cost-effective prepaid mobile data access to terrestrial mobile networks…

Speedcast International, provider of reliable, fully managed, remote communication and IT solutions, today announced a strategic alliance with SRH Marine. The strategic agreement redefines the management of navigation and communications across the Maritime industry by providing a fully integrated shipboard solution delivered by a single supplier. “The alliance between Speedcast and SRH Marine is a giant leap forward in addressing the fragmented nature of vessel technical management”, said Tim Bailey, Executive Vice President, Products, Marketing and Business Development, Speedcast. The alliance will deliver a simplified solution for the operation, certification, management and maintenance of all bridge electronics onboard vessels across the globe.

Speedcast International Limited, provider of fully managed, remote communication and IT solutions, has announced the release of SIGMA Gateway Xtreme, a new network device capable of managing Speedcast’s global Ku VSAT network, Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress network and 4G/LTE services. “The launch of SIGMA Gateway earlier in the year was a milestone in bringing secure virtualized server environments to the Maritime market,” said Tim Bailey, Executive Vice President, Products, Marketing, & Business Development, Speedcast. “We’re excited to be able to offer even better reliability and redundancy with the launch of SIGMA Gateway Xtreme. SIGMA Gateway Xtreme is designed to withstand harsh maritime environments…

Whether it’s autonomous cars or connected houses, it seems like everywhere you look these days, internet of things (IoT) technology is a focus. Even in the conservative maritime world, IoT is currently a hot topic. Shifting supply chain solutions and business models are fundamentally changing the way that commercial shipping and the wider transport sector operates. IoT enables an organization to capture value from information, regardless of sector, and in essence forms a loop that creates a larger process. Deloitte conceptualized this process and named it the Information Value Loop in 2015.

Speedcast International Limited, the provider of remote communication and IT solutions, and Danaos Peripherals announced a strategic alliance agreement under which the two companies will combine maritime communications with advanced application management developed by Danaos. Within 2017, the two companies will jointly release a remote and autonomous IT system on board a vessel, leveraging key technologies such as big data analytics, internet of things (IoT) and cyber security. The system will enable the remote deployment of third party services and applications, allowing for the swift and simple implementation of new capabilities to a ship.

As an industry that spends a great amount of its resources procuring and sending data in order to operate, the maritime industry is an attractive target for cyber criminals. Due to the remote locations of vessels and limited staff aboard ships and rigs, organizations and their offshore vessels and platforms are often ill equipped to ward off cyber threats. The cost and repercussions of a breach can be extensive in terms of both money and crew safety. According to a recent study, the cost of cybercrime has even surpassed that of drug crime.

Satellite communications and network service provider SpeedCast International Limited has announced the appointment of David Kagan to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) reporting to Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Jean Beylier. Kagan comes to SpeedCast from Globalstar, where he served as President and COO. Uniquely qualified as a result of his extensive industry experience, Kagan previously held C-level executive positions at ITC Global, Globe Wireless, Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN), ICG Satellite Services and Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd. Kagan is expected to start in March 2017, and joins during a key period as integration activities with Harris CapRock accelerate following the completion of the acquisition on January 1, 2017.

SpeedCast International, a global communications and network service provider, is the first Inmarsat partner to integrate the software element of the Fleet Xpress Network Service Device (SoftNSD) into its Fleet Xpress offering. This allows third party application providers to develop and publish innovative, content-rich applications over Fleet Xpress, such as the real-time analysis of data, including engine monitoring, weather information and fuel consumption rates. These applications can deliver real benefits in operational efficiency, safety and compliance, IT security and crew welfare. The integration of the software element of the Fleet Xpress Network Service Device will also allow SpeedCast to build value added solutions and applications over SIGMA Gateway.

Speedcast International Limited,  provider of fully managed remote communication and IT solutions, has signed a reseller agreement with Tampnet for 4G/LTE services in the Gulf of Mexico. The agreement marks Speedcast as the first service provider to partner with Tampnet for its high capacity offshore network in the region. Tampnet announced in March that it has reached 25 percent of its planned coverage for the Gulf of Mexico. Upon completion at the end of 2018, Tampnet will have a low latency, high capacity fiber and microwave network made up of more than 60 base stations that they estimate will cover 98 percent of all manned offshore assets. Tampnet currently owns a similarly designed offshore low-latency network in the North Sea which has been in operation since 2001.

Satellite communications services provider Inmarsat says that "in an extraordinary level of service uptake surpassing expectations," its Fleet Xpress service has secured commitments covering in excess of 10,000 ships within 12 months of launch. Fleet Xpress delivers a fully integrated dual capability of high speed, high capacity services (Global Xpress) together with high reliability safety-level services (FleetBroadband) in a single commercial package available anywhere in the world. "The demand for Fleet Xpress has been unprecedented since its launch at the end of March 2016, demonstrating that the market has been truly ready for the connected ship and the network supporting maritime business applications," said Ronald Spithout, President Inmarsat Maritime.

Speedcast International Limited provider of fully managed, remote communication and IT solutions, announced it has signed an agreement with government satellite connectivity provider COMSAT to establish a common global service offering of Ku-band very small aperture terminal (VSAT) services for the government and maritime markets. The combined network will leverage Speedcast’s greater than 8 GHz of global satellite capacity and COMSAT’s security-cleared teleports in the United States to deliver a robust, secure network for customers needing advanced, resilient connectivity for critical operations. “The opportunity for collaboration with COMSAT fits very well with Speedcast’s commitment to delivering robust…