As one of the oldest forms of long-distance transportation, maritime vessels have been the backbone of commerce in nearly every region of the world for thousands of years. Approximately 90 percent of world trade is carried by the international shipping industry, nations defense and security efforts depend on navies and coast guards, millions of passengers every year go on cruise and ferry vessels, and there is a vast armada of service, supply and scientific vessels worldwide.
Apart from the many technical intricacies of maintaining a reliable link from a vessel to a satellite hundreds or thousands of miles away, the satellite communications industry has simply experienced growth faster than many users can keep up with it. Although the technology exists to produce an at-sea communications experience similar to that experienced by a users home office, many customers have trouble selecting the combination of technologies, network equipment and services that address their needs most efficiently and cost effectively.
Few markets within the high technology industry have experienced growth and evolution quite as rapidly as maritime SATCOM. Even as recently as 10 years ago, making a phone call or accessing a corporate network from a ship was a tightly controlled luxury; now this connection is becoming an expectation of passengers and crew. Satellite communications have become the standard for many offshore operations, and the capacity of satellite technology has expanded to include hardware, software and capabilities that didnt previously exist. Not only has this growth expanded our ability to connect to virtually every ocean region, but it has also improved operational efficiencies, safety, and crew morale and welfare. But as overworked radio officers and IT staff will quickly point out, once the end-users are given a connection, they just want more!
Onboard stabilized antennas today are smaller, more functional and more reliable than they have been in the past. This translates into less-intrusive hardware, requiring far less time and maintenance from crew members and technicians, with lower risk of downtime. The recent trend has been for single antennas to operate on multiple satellite bands and to automatically switch between satellites to overcome blockage or movement out of a satellite footprint.
After 20 years of this technology being used for government vessels, were seeing a migration to the commercial marketplace. In short, users can get a lot more function out of the same amount of hardware, which substantially cuts equipment costs and maintenance requirements. Baseband technology, which is basically how digital information is carried between the satellite, the ship and the Land Earth Station, has also improved the effectiveness of satellite service, taking advantage of technologies such as TDMA, CDMA and dSCPC to maximize the number of bits that can be sent over the scarce satellite spectrum.
Given the rate at which these developments have progressed, its safe to predict that the landscape of satellite technology five years from now may very well bring an entirely different set of capabilities and user demands, as maritime operations grow digitally closer to their home offices. And with these developments, we can undoubtedly expect to see new problems and confusions arise.
Multiple Options Breed Inefficiencies
In fact, technological developments have already created quite a bit of confusion for users shopping the SATCOM market. With so many different technologies to address varied needs, choosing the most appropriate solution from a laundry list of signals and hardware is no easy task. Should a network use an open or closed (proprietary) system? C-, Ku-, L- or Ka-band? What about hybrid networks that also use GSM or WiMAX? What type of antenna? Its not easy to decide what will suit the needs of extensive operations when there are so many technologies available.
Sometimes buying decisions are made just on cost, or on a portion of the true lifecycle cost, and many times the marketing hype of a solution is not matched by real-world performance which can leave a bitter taste in the buyers mouth. The decision making process is daunting to even the most knowledgeable IT department. On top of that, changes to industry regulations and growing data transmission requirements make implementing a satellite network even more difficult. After all, when signing a long term contract, can the company be confident that its needs several years from now will be met by the same solution they are committing to today?
Partnering To Allow Focus On Customer Missions
The truth is that many users really arent interested in the types of signals available or choosing an antenna. Theyre more concerned with how well the network operates and how much it costs. Users seek confidence in knowing that theyre receiving reliable coverage beyond their current geographic regions. They need the administrative capabilities to monitor assets, resource availability, crew and guest usage, and security. They want it future-proof. And they need it to be affordable. The customer basically wants an Ethernet cable connected from the mainland to the ship!
In addition, a communications service provider can build a service plan that will grow alongside its customers operations. For example, some of our customers with large fleets are well served by a cost-effective 60 cm antenna with C-band service to provide basic voice and text messaging services. As we work with the fleet, or portions of the fleet, to build a case for increased performance or additional applications, we can lead the transition and upgrade process.
On the other hand, some of our sites are better served by a high-capacity submarine fiber connection rather than satellite, or a hybrid network with both satellite and shore-side wireless networks. At the high end, we can now deliver more than 100 mbps of service to a single vessel nearly anywhere in the world, a level of service not practical just two years ago! Maritime communications customers ought to be focused on how they serve their own customers, how they make money and how they distinguish themselves in their market; a communications service provider can enable that focus by handling the complexities of the network.
Maritime technology has progressed rapidly to support the mission critical communication needs of the worlds fleets, but that progress is far from over. We can expect to see many more innovations in the coming years, specifically for communications networks. By building a scalable and evolving global network with a combination of technologies to suit each companys needs, an end-to-end service provider allows crew and passengers across the oceans to continue to grow digitally closer to their home offices and reach operational efficiencies previously inconceivable.
Rick Simonian is president of Maritime Solutions at Harris CapRock Communications, a premier global provider of managed satellite and terrestrial communications solutions specifically for remote and harsh environments serving the energy, government and maritime markets. Harris CapRock owns and operates a robust global infrastructure that includes teleports on six continents, five 24/7 customer service centers, AssuredCare customer service and network management program, local presence in 23 countries and more than 275 global field service personnel supporting customer locations across North America, Central and South America, Europe, West Africa and Asia-Pacific regions. Harris CapRock offers a variety of end-to-end solutions supporting maritime operations for cruise, commercial shipping, marine systems, seafloor networks, and service and supply applications.