This document provides an overview of VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) satellite communication technology. It describes how geostationary satellites are used to provide internet, voice, and data services to ships at sea via antennas on the vessels. Benefits of VSAT include always-on connectivity without extra usage fees. Challenges include latency from the long distance to satellites and potential interference issues. The document also outlines services and solutions provided by a specific VSAT network operator.
3. • Geostationary Satellites are Located 22,300 Miles (35,786 km) above
the Earth’s Equator
• Operates on “line of sight” basis
• “Latency” Due to Round Trip Distance to Satellite
– Approximately 500 Millisecond Roundtrip
– Impacts Internet page loading, voice call experience and fax
transmissions
• C-Band: Global Beam, Wide Coverage
– Requires 2.4-meter antenna minimum
– Circular and Linear Polarizations
• Ku-Band: Regional, Limited Coverage
– Requires 1.0-meter antenna minimum
• Coverage Area Is Described as a “Footprint”
– AOR, POR, IOR
– Regional, Spot, Hemi or Global Beams
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4. • C-Band: Electromagnetic or Terrestrial Microwave Interference
• Ku-Band: “Rain Fade” in Extreme Weather
– Effects can be mitigated by higher power amplifiers from ship and
increased satellite power
• Military RF Interference
• Physical Blockage
– Buildings, Fjords or Ship Superstructure
• Terrestrial Outages
• Satellite Issues
– Solar Activity or Spacecraft Malfunction
• Ocean Currents should not affect performance due to stabilized
antenna design
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5. • Always on, always available, unlimited use
• Fixed vs. variable costs
– No unpredictable “pay by the minute or megabyte” costs
• 21st Century Requirements
– Internet access is part of life; it does not need to be costly or used
sparingly
– Extend data networks to become “floating offices”
– Limit unnecessary travel to ships
– Reporting requirements are increasing
– Remote monitoring
– Vessel tracking
– Crew retention and welfare services
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6. • Passenger Ships
• Offshore Oil & Gas
• Government Systems
• Private Yachts
• Shipping Fleets
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8. • Predictable, Fixed Monthly Fees for Unlimited “Always On”
Communications
• Fully-Managed Turnkey Solution includes:
• Shipboard and Shore-side Equipment
• Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT)
• Installation, Technical Service and Spare Parts
• Worldwide Satellite Coverage
• Global Terrestrial Network & Teleport Services
• Internet Backbone Access
• Common IP Addresses and Phone Numbers seamlessly integrated
across the network
• PSTN Call Termination with US or International Dial Tone Options
• 24x7 Monitor and Control and Remote Diagnostics
• Web-Based Customer Portal
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9. Our customers always receive:
• Committed Information Rate with “Burstability”
• CIR establishes bandwidth “floor”
• MIR establishes bandwidth “ceiling”
– We do not “oversubscribe” our network
– We do not sell your bandwidth to multiple other
customers and hope that everyone will not use it at
the same time
– We do not offer a “best efforts” or “contended” network in which
customers must compete with one another for capacity
– Your user experience will not degrade over time
– Burst pools are comprised of unused bandwidth on our network
and satellite inventory
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12. • Ku-Band is outpacing demand for C-Band
– Largely due to cost and size
• Smaller and lighter Ku antennas
– 1.5m, 1.2m, 1.15m, 1.0m, 85cm, 60cm
• Multi-band LNBs (Low Noise Block)
– No mechanical intervention required for vessels transitioning
between satellites
• Maritime-specific satellite beams
– New launches in 2009 will greatly expand coverage
• Automatic Beam Switching
– Less intervention from shipboard personnel
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13. • Multi-frequency solutions
– Primary VSAT coupled with FBB or Iridium OpenPort or Becker
Marine’s PortNet
• Strong desire for crew welfare services that are partially subsidized by
company
– Internet
– Voice
– Pre-paid SIM cellular
• Greater standardization and ease of integration
– VSAT installations become “cookie cutter”
• Training
– Shipboard and shore-side personnel
– Video-based training modules
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14. • New VSAT equipment manufacturers create challenges for VSAT
service providers
• Supply chain
– How many antennas are available?
– Where are they?
• Spare parts
– Spares must be immediately available
• Training
– Are technicians and engineers confident in their ability to install,
troubleshoot and repair?
• Type approval
– Is the antenna compliant?
• Impetus to change
– Is it really a better mousetrap?
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15. • DVB-S2
– Outbound data rates up to 140Mbps
– More efficient, lower cost, higher burstability
• ACM (Adaptive Coding and Modulation)
– Dynamic FEC (Forward Error Correction) helps maintain a reliable
link as conditions change
– Network can operate at peak efficiency
• Link Budgets no longer based on a lowest common denominator
• Rate tables possible for different sized antennas
• Automatic Beam Switching
– Automatically handles cutovers between satellites
– Improving logic with knowledge of network load balance
• Parallel SatManage
– Granular bandwidth reports (by application, protocol, IP address,
etc)
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16. • Riverbed (optional)
– Data compression and optimization
– Improves throughput and user experience
• ShipTracker Web Portal
– Real-time vessel position and performance information
– Historical performance and bandwidth utilization statistics
• Dual-Antennas (optional)
– Dual C, KU or C/KU configurations available
– Antennas can “look” at different satellites
– Failover is automatic
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21. • Ship’s Position (Latitude/Longitude)
• Speed
• Heading
• Graphical Location of Ship
• Graphical Track of Ship’s Course
• Based on Google Maps
• Satellite Signal Strength
• Satellite Footprint Overlays
• Data is Derived from GPS
• Updated Weather Maps from NOAA
• Updates Approximately Every Fifteen Minutes
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23. Technical Services
• 24/7/365 Network Operations Center
– Staffed with Field-Experienced Technicians
• We currently employ 50+ RF and Networking Field Technicians
• End-to-End Accountability
• Certified Technical Service Partners to supplement our own efforts
Logistics and Spare Parts
• Maintaining appropriate inventories of spare parts
• Always at least one complete C-Band and one complete Ku-band
system in stock
• Warehouse facilities worldwide
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24. Quality of Life Services
• Crew Calling Cards
– Allows members to make personal calls at reasonable rates
• Internet Café and Wi-Fi Applications
– Recreational Internet access
– Service with turnkey solution
• MPEG4 Television Programming
– News, Sports, Entertainment and Special Events Content
– Currently available on C-Band satellites
• Cellular Services: GSM/CDMA/GPRS/EDGE
– Allows users to send and receive calls and data and be
billed by their home carriers
• Ocean News
– International newspapers are available daily and can be
printed onboard on A3 paper
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25. • Content acquisition.
• Obtain legal rights to deliver content to the Maritime Industry on a
global basis.
• Acquire, schedule and manage Live TV, Store and Forward, Special
Event and Sport Packages.
• Satellite uplink and downlink.
• Deliver via a seamless network with a goal of worldwide coverage.
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26. • Outstanding satellite coverage
– World’s largest maritime C-Band network
– Ever-expanding Ku-Band coverage
• Unparalleled experience
– Pioneers in VSAT
– Leading the evolution of the industry for 20 years
• Guaranteed bandwidth (CIR) with “burstability”
– Consistent Quality of Service over time
– Network is not oversubscribed
– We do not sell the same bandwidth to multiple users on the
hope it will not be used concurrently
• Premium-level services
– Every customer is a “premium” customer and receives all
company resources
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27. • 24/7 Network Operations Center
– Proactively monitors network and are always available for
support
– One RF and Data Technician always on call
• Redundant terrestrial network
– Physically different fiber and VPN backups
– Teleport redundancy for AOR
• Secure Customer portal
– Bandwidth utilization charts and uptime reports
– ShipTracker now linked to Google maps
• Innovative Crew Morale services
– Helps retain valuable crew and keep them connected like at
home
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