Small, affordable, easy-to-install maritime terminals bring fast data speeds to coastal fishing, leisure and recreational vessels

Intelsat released a smaller antenna class for its FlexMaritime service today that will bring a new level of broadband connectivity performance and affordability to leisure, fishing and light-commercial maritime vessels around the world.

The 45 centimeter (cm) antennas are small enough to hand carry aboard vessels and easy to install. They are also easy to connect to the Intelsat FlexMaritime network, which provides fast data speeds of up to 6 x 2 megabits per second (Mbps), enabling everything from accessing real-time online weather forecasts to livestreaming the “catch-of-the-day” on social media.

The new Intelsat maritime mobility solution enabled by the 45cm antenna is ideal for fishing, leisure, tugs and other workboats, as well as smaller or coastal merchant ships looking for fast, affordable and reliable broadband connectivity.

“Our new 45cm antenna class on FlexMaritime is a new, highly innovative offering in the maritime market,” said Intelsat Director of Maritime Products Shane Rossbacher. “By combining new 45cm antenna technology with the FlexMaritime global HTS satellite network, we have enabled smaller commercial and recreational vessels to easily, and affordably, access the same great connectivity using a smaller and cost-effective antenna form factor.”

45cm terminals from KNS and Intellian are qualified on the Intelsat FlexMaritime network. They come with a choice of separate or integrated Antenna Control Unit (ACU) and a modem powered by ST Engineering iDirect. Connectivity is provided by the high-performance Intelsat FlexMaritime network, which delivers unparalleled, multi-layered global coverage through more than 140 satellite beams.

“With Intelsat’s new FlexMaritime 45cm antenna class, users will experience unmatched performance with ubiquitous coverage wherever they go, enabling even more vessels around the world to take advantage of the high-throughput capabilities of Intelsat’s global network,” added Rossbacher.

Over the last year, Intelsat had done extensive testing of the new 45cm service with our beta partner KNS, which included fine tuning design and algorithms to meet the FlexMaritime requirements. Extensive sea trials were also conducted earlier this year onboard the Esvagt Innovator, an emergency response and rescue vehicle, with the 45cm service delivering the consistent and dependable performance that Intelsat’s FlexMaritime service is known for.

Above: Intelsat and Seasat A/S tested the new Intelsat FlexMaritime 45cm service onboard the Esvagt Innovator earlier this year.

“We conducted extensive testing and sea trials of FlexMaritime’s 45cm service using the KNS C4 antenna, with the service consistently meeting or exceeding our performance expectations; in fact, during testing, our crew stayed connected during some very harsh sea conditions,” said Kim Martinsen, CEO and Co-Founder of Seasat A/S, a Flex45 beta launch solution partner.

“This is a great application,” continued Martinsen. “Our compact and lightweight antenna is easy to install, and the flexibility of Intelsat’s service allows end customers to quickly and easily dial bandwidth up or down to meet their real-time needs.”

Maritime  solutions providers can purchase Intelsat-qualified 45cm terminals directly from KNSor Intellian, or from their distribution partners.

Intelsat FlexMaritime services are offered exclusively through Intelsat’s network of FlexMaritime solutions partners, including Flex45 beta launch partners Seasat A/S and World-Link Communications.

Intelsat FlexMaritime services are available in user-friendly month-to-month or annual service agreements. Wholesale, end-terminal package models come with a choice of monthly, gigabyte volume-based plans and no long-term usage commitments. In addition, Intelsat’s Service Management Portal gives solutions partners full visibility and control over their end-user packages.

The addition of the 45cm terminal represents the third terminal class for Intelsat FlexMaritime services, adding to Intelsat’s existing 60cm and one-meter antenna service offerings