Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operator OneWeb, which recently completed a first launch of six satellites for a planned global constellation of more than 600 satellites in total, has announced plans for a maritime connectivity service, with Intellian and Cobham already signed up to produce its shipboard terminals.
The new maritime antennas will be specially designed to provide internet connectivity via the OneWeb network, delivering low latency bandwidth at sea.
Cobham and Intellian, who together hold 75% market share of the VSAT installed base, will create a portfolio of terminals with a variety of performance levels and sizes to cater to different sectors of the maritime industry, including merchant shipping, offshore, passenger, leisure and commercial fishing.
These LEO user terminals will be developed based on field-proven stabilised antenna technologies, OneWeb says. Stabilised antennas are already commonly used to connect to geostationary VSAT satellites.
“Our vision is fully customised maritime broadband services that will meet the needs of all ships and fleets, in any location,” said Nicolas Zibell, OneWeb Chief Commercial Officer.
“We are excited to launch OneWeb to the maritime industry alongside a high-quality ecosystem of partners.”
