(PRINCETON, NJ -– October 24, 2007) SES Americom, a supplier of satellite services, today launched its Maritime Mobile Broadband (MMB) service which enables telecommunications service providers to offer affordable, “always on” broadband data and voice service to boats and ships throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.
The company operates a fleet of 15 spacecraft. The satellites used for MMB services, such as AMC-6 and NSS-7, operate in Ku-band for reliable and cost-effective two-way connectivity, and their orbital locations provide continuous coverage of North America, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. A new satellite, AMC-21, is under construction which is expected to deliver more powerful services to these areas in mid-2008.
In operation, voice and data traffic are uplinked from ground stations equipped with ViaSat technology to the SES satellites, which then relay the information to the vessels where it is received by shipboard terminals.
The MMB service delivers voice and data “downstream” to vessels at up to 2 Mbps and supporting “upstream” data rates from ship-to-shore of as much as 512 Kbps. SES Americom is making the MMB service available through a network of reseller partners with KVH serving as the sole antenna supplier for all markets.
“The need for Internet service does not stop at the shore’s edge,” said Brent Bruun, SES Americom’s Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives. “We developed MMB as an affordable solution that provides high speeds with high reliability so that these smaller vessels can get cutting edge data and voice communications services delivered via our satellite fleet.”
