Today, on 15 February 2017, SES (Société Européenne des Satellites) and Gilat Satellite Networks announced their collaboration on delivering affordable connectivity at sea.
SES and Gilat have joined forces in an attempt to offer affordable connectivity to a range of underserved small ships and sea vessels in the Caribbean and beyond.
As part of this collaboration, the two associations have developed the Maritime+ Regional solution which combines an affordable package of an all-in-one antenna with wide beam and HTS satellite capacity for small vessels.
Set for commercial launch in April 2017, the plug-and-play platform is the latest offering within the SES Maritime+ service, which was first introduced late last year. The new collaborative solution brings together Gilat’s MarineRay 60P all-in-one Ku-band maritime VSAT (very small aperture terminal) antenna package with SES’s tailored maritime capacity on both wide beam and upcoming high throughput satellite (HTS) capacity to help small yachts and ship operators break through entry barriers.
Up until recently, the cost of antennas, installation, satellite capacity, and fleet and network management has prevented many small vessels from entering the VSAT market and left them unable to access highspeed connectivity. The SES Maritime+ solution aims to eliminate these obstacles in an affordable package.
The collaborative solution, sold through a network of authorised dealers across the globe, will be available first to small yachts and vessels traversing Caribbean waters, followed by small craft operating in the Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and ocean waters throughout Southeast Asia.
Elias Zaccack, SVP of Global Mobility and the Americas Region for SES, has commented that: “This collaborative breakthrough is all about leveraging and utilising SES’s robust and diverse network of satellite capacity and Gilat’s all-in-one VSAT terminals to make high-speed, high quality connectivity much more accessible to even the smallest maritime operators.”
