A comprehensive survey of maritime VSAT

Communicating with vessels at sea is a necessity, but it is difficult and expensive. The first satellite communications networks were conceived with one primary consideration – improving the safety of seafarers and their vessels. As technology has advanced and the requirements for sending data between ship and shore have increased, the pay-per-megabyte nature of L-band demand assigned services has struggled to keep pace. Traditionally, L-Band services have been the dominant communications technology used on-board a maritime vessel, but extensive use of these services can become very expensive as they are charged on a per-megabyte tariff. Whilst VSAT satellite services were always an option for some, the high cost of the Single Channel Per Carrier (SCPC) technology they used (requiring dedicated bandwidth for each vessel), made VSAT far more expensive than L-Band and prohibitively expensive for most. With the advent of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) VSAT networks, the landscape of maritime communications changed fundamentally. Offering a comparable service to SCPC networks but sharing and segmenting bandwidth across vessels, suddenly high speed, always-on, flat-rate VSAT connectivity came within reach of everyone within the maritime community. In the past five years TDMA networks in the maritime VSAT market have increased from less than 20% to more than 50% i. VSAT operators have provided valuable services to ship owners and operators by delivering always-on, flat-rate, IP connectivity. This has enabled vessels to become highly functional remote offices integrated with corporate network applications. Taking advantage of standard applications has improved vessel management and extends the communications infrastructure to personnel on board, allowing crews to train and remain in contact with home. VSAT has quickly become one of the hottest topics in maritime communications. It has moved out of niche sectors such as Energy Oil & Gas, Survey and Cruise into more mainstream commercial maritime, previously the preserve of Inmarsat and Iridium. With an estimated market size of 40,000 vessels of 1,000GT and over, this market has seen an influx of VSAT solution providers. There has been continuing debate about the complexity of VSAT systems, the drivers to fitting, the costs and the real numbers of ship owners and operators who are actively considering fitting a VSAT system. Despite the increasing profile of VSAT solutions there has never been a major qualitative survey of the maritime market's attitudes towards, and usage of, VSAT systems. iDirect's TDMA VSAT networks are the most broadly deployed in the …