UK company offers enhanced Internet access at sea

by Scenta on 22 Apr 2006 The European Space Agency (ESA) and Wired Ocean Ltd are teaming up to offer enhanced internet access at sea at the lowest cost to date. Satellite links may be common, but the current speed of data transmission for most users at sea average between 600 bps to 64 kbps.

Despite the slow speed, internet access would cost seafarers €20 (£14) per megabyte. Ship owners have not enjoyed a regular and reliable service due to the online environment the cost and speed creates.

UK-based media company Wired Ocean plans to adopt a hybrid solution. By combining Ku-band satellites for the downlink and narrow L-band satellites for the return channel, they plan to improve speed and cost-effectiveness.

The downlink (forward) channel offers a speed of 512 kbps and the uplink (return) channel speed is 9.6 kbps for Globalstar and up to 64 kbps for Inmarsat.

This configuration promises to be more economical than purely narrowband satellite systems, with cost savings of as much as 70 per cent over current systems. A ship’s internet communications would be managed through a specialised client server developed by Wired Ocean.

The server is especially designed to interface with a tracking TV Receive Only (TVRO) antenna for the downlink with various types of narrow band communications equipment for the uplink. TVRO would be used to receive internet data while providing signals to the ship’s televisions simultaneously.

Trials have been conducted onboard yachts, ships and commercial vessels with many ships already adopting TVRO satellite phones as well as the server providing triple play – telephone, television and internet. Ten trials were conducted on oceans along the European continent – the Mediterranean and North Sea.

Wired Ocean's pilot trials were a continuation of the ESA Telecom-supported project ‘Maritime Interactive Broadband’, which began as a result of the Start-up Projects Initiative. The Start-up Projects Initiative helps small to medium enterprises through the early development stages of researching and refining a business proposition.

SCENTA - science, engineering & technology news

For this and more please visit http://www.scenta.co.uk