Intelsat Launches
Global Maritime Solution
(19 June 2007) Intelsat Ltd., the
world's leading provider of commercial satellite services, announced today the
launch of its new Network Broadband Global Maritime service, the latest
addition to Intelsat's GlobalConnex portfolio of services, as well as the
signing of a multi-year distribution agreement with
Schlumberger.
This solution is bringing new levels of bandwidth
capabilities to the maritime industry and it is ideally suited for maritime
fleet management and oilfield service providers seeking global data and voice
connectivity regardless of their fleet or maritime structure
location.
Utilising Intelsat's global satellite C-band capacity, the
Network Broadband Global Maritime network operates at rates up to 2 Mb/s, with
the initial service offering continuous communications with high-powered
bandwidth rates from 128 kb/s to 512 kb/s. In addition, Intelsat's Network
Broadband Global Maritime service offers "always-on" broadband access that
provides customers with continuous bandwidth for a fixed monthly fee.
In
addition to its industry-leading bandwidth rates, Intelsat's Network Broadband
Global Maritime service differentiates itself from other offerings by
incorporating two unique technical features. The first feature is an integrated
Automatic Beam Switching system, which seamlessly transfers service between the
satellites and maintains a site's Internet session while the vessel is
underway, eliminating the need for complex and costly manual intervention such
as the re-pointing of antennas. The second feature, the platform's Global
Network Monitoring System, offers customers the ability to monitor all remote
locations from a single monitoring site at any location desired by the
customer. The requirements of companies managing vessel fleets and maritime
infrastructures desiring efficient connectivity world-wide were the driving
force behind these design features.
Intelsat will market this maritime
communications solution to the maritime and oil and gas industries via a select
group of distribution service providers who will then be responsible for
customer network management, application support and installation, and
maintenance of remote terminals on vessels or structures.
Schlumberger,
the leading oilfield services provider, has signed a multi-year agreement to
distribute Intelsat's Network Broadband Global Maritime service to the oil and
gas market. Schlumberger enables oil companies to connect their offices to
remote drilling and production operations to support collaborative decision
making through shared access to information applications and
networks.
"Always-on connectivity is important for our ability to relay
real-time data to our customers," said Andy Lucas, Director of Global
Connectivity Services at Schlumberger.
"When developing this service, we
took into consideration the critical current needs of the market and most
importantly, what our customers were seeking in next-generation services.
Having Schlumberger as a distribution partner speaks directly to the strength
and uniqueness of our service offering," said Jay Yass, Intelsat's Vice
President of Network Services. "Schlumberger's experience and global presence
in the maritime oil and gas industry made them the ideal go-to-market partner
as we introduce the service world-wide."
Intelsat's Network Broadband
Global Maritime platform uses capacity on three ocean-region satellites: IS-605
at 174 degrees E, IS-707 at 307 degrees E and IS-906 at 64 degrees E. Likewise,
primary hubs at Intelsat's teleports of Fuchsstadt and Riverside and backup
hubs of Intelsat's Mountainside and Atlanta teleports round out the seamless
global network unrivalled by other offerings in the industry.
About
Intelsat
Intelsat is the leading provider of fixed satellite services
(FSS) world-wide and is the leading provider of these services to each of the
media, network services and government customer sectors, enabling people and
businesses everywhere constant access to information and entertainment.
Intelsat offers customers a greater business potential by providing them access
to unrivalled resources with ease of business and peace of mind. An extensive
customer base, including some of the world's leading media and communications
companies, multinational corporations, Internet service providers and
government/military organisations, utilises our services. Real-time, constant
communication with people anywhere in the world is closer, by
far.
(source: Intelsat)