Our team of maritime mobile connectivity experts recently read The Future of Maritime Connectivity – 2024 written by Valour Consultancy, a market intelligence and consultancy agency which specialises in the aviation and maritime sectors.
The report focuses on maritime satellite connectivity with contributions from all the major satellite players including Intelsat, SES, Iridium, Eutelsat, OneWeb and Amazon Kuiper.
To summarise, Valour’s analysts found that the total maritime satellite connectivity retail market was worth almost $2.1 billion in 2023, increasing from $1.8 billion in 2022 and “the key component is increased end-user spending on Starlink’s maritime LEO service, combined with some vessels using Eutelsat OneWeb LEO service.
Valour Consultancy estimates that more than 20,000 vessels were using Starlink’s maritime service by the end of 2023”.
However, the key question from our maritime mobile connectivity team is…do the people and devices inside these vessels really need to be using satellite?
Telecom26 and its maritime mobile connectivity service
Providing maritime mobile connectivity for devices, systems, crew and passengers on-board commercial vessels is one of Telecom26’s core competencies.
Our maritime mobile connectivity customers include leisure yachts, fishing boats, container ships, ferries and other vessels. We also provide connectivity to inland ports and rivers as shipping companies usually need connectivity on-land as well as at sea to monitor their freight as it moves out of and into a port.
The issues that our maritime mobile connectivity team stress to current and potential customers are:
- That satellite is often not necessary to provide fast and reliable connectivity to vessels. This is because land-based cellular networks can now reach up to 50km out to sea. Until recently this was 30km. So, there is no need for vessels that hug the shore to use more expensive satellite when they could be using less expensive cellular instead. This is particularly applicable to cargo vessels and ferries that cross relatively narrow straits – for example, the English Channel.
- That Starlink doesn’t cover the whole planet…
In short, Telecom26's extensive roaming agreements with local mobile carriers ensure that vessels have continuous connectivity even when close to coastlines or in ports, where satellite solutions might not always be the most cost-effective or reliable.
Telecom26 helps VMS improve its maritime mobile connectivity service
So far this year, we have announced two new partnerships with Virtual Maritime Services (VMS) and MiWire which have improved the maritime connectivity that both companies provide to the vessels of their customers. Limited coverage, high connectivity costs and slow downloads and uploads are now a thing of the past for VMS and MiWire’s maritime connectivity customers, thanks to Telecom26’s maritime mobile connectivity service.
You can read more about our partnership with VMS in this blog: Telecom26 and VMS enhance maritime connectivity for commercial vessels
Telecom26 helps MiWire improve its maritime mobile connectivity service for commercial vessels — particularly ferries
Our partnership with MiWire has delivered fast and reliable data at a reduced price for commercial vessels — particularly ferries — that often sail on the same routes.
MiWire new maritime service, based on Telecom26’s eSIMs, always uses the most cost-effective and strongest cellular connection for data – and takes advantage of local rates. As the vessel moves along the coast, different networks are detected – when a stronger signal is encountered, the algorithm automatically transitions connectivity to it
MiWire is also using Telecom26’s innovative LPAd technology which enables routers to benefit from consumer eSIMs – supporting multiple eSIM profiles and unlocking optimised connectivity to hundreds of networks. This gives MiWire the flexibility to deploy the solution, without inserting or changing physical SIMs.
You can read more about this in a previous blog Telecom26 and MiWire trial new eSIM-enabled maritime connectivity service for vessels of all sizes.
Telecom26’s maritime mobile connectivity services
Our services include:
- A full Cellular at Sea service
- A Nearshore Connectivity Service that uses land-based cellular networks which can provide coverage to vessels as far out as 50km
- Networks for onboard personal communications. You can read more about this here: Mobile Private Networks for Cruise Ships and the Merchant Navy
- A Maritime IoT/M2M Service including private networks on-board vessels, oil rigs and platforms – and supply chain tracking
Telecom26 – get in touch to improve your maritime, and global, mobile connectivity
Telecom26 is both a maritime MNO and a full global MVNO for terrestrial coverage.
We provide a full range of telecom services and connectivity options including 5G (where available), LTE-M, Wi-Fi, private networks, 2G, 3G and 4G, as well offshore connectivity capabilities and GPS tracking.
Our customers include businesses of all sizes across the world, OEMs and NGOs who want a single delivery partner, cross-border solutions and network coverage that is secure, resilient and can be tailored to meet specific and evolving needs.
If you would like to organise a video call to discuss how we can help improve the global and maritime connectivity of the people, equipment and devices on-board your vessels including IoT and M2M, please get in touch.
