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64 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Xantic, Inmarsat Sign BGAN Contract Xantic and Inmarsat ratified their agreement to appoint Xantic as a launch Distribution Partner for the new BGAN services that are currently planned for introduction to the market later this year. To make a quick start in the BGAN era Xantic established its own PoP in 2003 for both Regional BGAN and BGAN in order to develop a full range of value added services to its customers. The Xantic infrastructure is placed between the Inmarsat Regional BGAN / BGAN system and the Internet in order to develop a value added services plat- form. This distinguishes Xantic's offer- ing from the baseline Regional BGAN / BGAN service. These unique services are very much valued in the market. They provide users cost control, firewall management, full traffic information, pre-paid facilities, high security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and a full IP range. Circle 51 on Reader Service Card Marlink Launches New High-Speed Data Service Marlink, a subsidiary of Telenor Satellite Services, launched Fleet F77 128 kbps service, which doubles the data speed of the traditional Inmarsat Fleet technology while using existing Fleet equipment aboard large vessels such as merchant ships, research and exploration vessels, passenger ships, and super yachts. This service uses a single, dedicated 128 kbps channel and is designed to meet the varied 'at sea' communications and data requirements of the maritime industry. "Marlink is committed to offering new communica- tions services and applications that enable our maritime customers to improve operational efficiency while getting the best value for their money," said Søren Einshøj, managing director of Marlink. "Fleet F77 128 kbps service from Marlink does both by meeting the growing demand for higher bandwidth at sea, at a cost that is significantly less than the current alternative of bonding and paying for two 64 kbps channels." The service benefits high volume high-speed (HSD) data users in the mar- itime markets, and will enable fast remote network access and quicker entry to IP services while improving on- board ship applications such as: • video conferencing ship management applications online chart updates and weather information vessel telemetry Circle 52 on Reader Service Card Marlink Integrates Neratek Into Operations Marlink initiated a program that will make Neratek maritime communica- tions equipment and services available worldwide with Marlink's portfolio of satellite services. Neratek was acquired by Marlink's parent company, Telenor Satellite Services, in a move to further strengthen the company's position in the retail market for satellite communica- tions. Neratek is a provider of maritime and land mobile satellite communica- tions equipment and is the preferred provider of Nera communications equipment throughout the Nordic mar- itime region. In addition to a wide range of satellite communications equipment, ranging from handheld devices to high- speed data terminals, the company is also a major supplier of Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) equipment and other at sea emergency and safety items. Circle 53 on Reader Service Card CapRock Expands its IPxpress Global Network CapRock Communications completed the expansion of its IPxpress core net- work to its Macae, Brazil teleport. IPxpress is CapRock's Internet-proto- col-based (IP-based) core network architecture that employs multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) to enable secure transmission of corporate data, digital telephony and real-time video over its managed satellite communica- tions services. "Our clients operate in harsh and extremely remote locations all over the world in industries like oilfield, construction, maritime, mining and dis- aster relief," said CapRock President and COO Errol Olivier. "So the big benefit of IPxpress, from their perspec- tive, comes from what we call 'follow- me' networking. As customers move from one location to the next within the CapRock global network, their IP addresses and IP telephone numbers 'follow them' wherever they go just as if they were plugged in at the corporate office. It's features like this that we engi- neer into our networks that can really make our customers' lives easier." IPxpress was available previously through CapRock's teleports in Houston and Aberdeen. By expanding it to the Macae teleport, CapRock now can offer the benefits of IPxpress to a wider range of customers with locations across Latin America and the South Atlantic basin. Circle 55 on Reader Service Card MTN Helps Deliver Same- Day Newspapers at Sea Radisson Seven Seas Cruises (RSSC) offers NewspaperDirect's print-on- demand service across its fleet. This service, which provides passengers with their favorite same-day newspapers, is now available on the three ships Through NewspaperDirect's partner- ship with Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN), guests on the RSSC ships can now get printed same-day editions of their favorite newspapers, including USA Today, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Monde, The Times of India and La Stampa. "We look forward to delivering this service through our global satellite net- work, the leading service for the cruise industry," said MTN Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Bradford C. Briggs. "Now reading the morning news can be a part of the cruise experi- ence and RSSC's guests can stay in touch with local, national and interna- tional news, wherever they may be." Circle 54 on Reader Service Card SkyWave Mobile Offers SSAS Solution SkyWave Mobile Communications, a provider of Inmarsat D+ terminals, satellite airtime, and services, said its DMR200L D+ satellite terminal passed the applicable sections of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 60945:2002 specifi- cation to meet International Maritime Organization hardware requirements for the SSAS market. IEC 60945:2002 is an International Standard that specifies the general requirements, methods of test- ing, and required test results for mar- itime navigation and radio communica- tion equipment. This compliance now paves the way for SkyWave Solution Providers to go to market with SSAS solutions integrated with SkyWave's DMR200L. Circle 56 on Reader Service Card Stratos Plans Ahead Stratos Global Corp. announced the implementation of an IP Network Enhancement Project designed to pro- vide the platform for a new generation of IP service offerings and improved network efficiency across Stratos' entire range of remote communications solu- tions — including current and next-gen- eration worldwide mobile and fixed-site satellite services, as well as microwave and telephony solutions in the Gulf of Mexico. This IP Network Enhancement Project will include wireless wide area network (WAN) hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico and the introduction of an advanced suite of cross-platform, value- added products and services. Satellite & Communications Notes Maritime Communications Can Aid in Tsunami Warning System The 9th meeting of the International Maritime Organization's Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR) devoted an entire day recently to a special session on responses to the South Asian tsunami crisis. Much discussion focused around the contribution that IMO might make towards the development of a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. The Director of IMO's Maritime Safety Division reported on his attendance, on the Organization's behalf, at January's World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan and on IMO's willingness to help in that regard. He had highlight- ed to the international community attending the Conference the robust and well- proven satellite and radio-based communication infrastructure that IMO had established in co-operation with IHO and WMO for the promulgation of mar- itime safety information to ships which had the ability to play an important role in the dissemination of tsunami warnings. It was agreed that IMO should par- ticipate in the wider efforts to establish a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean, under the coordination of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. Delegates discussed the likely role that such a sys- tem might play and agreed that promulgation of tsunami information to the mar- itime community held the greatest potential. The meeting discussed the suit- ability of the existing infrastructure for such a function and whether changes might be needed to items such as the NAVTEX, SafetyNET and the World- Wide Navigational Warning Service manuals in order for it to take effect. An ad-hoc group to progress this work was established to consider the operational aspects of dissemination of tsunami warnings to mariners and the need for the possible development of measures to enhance preparedness and response to tsunami in ports and harbors. MR MARCH 2005 #8 (57-64).qxd 3/3/2005 9:25 AM Page 8
