Elon Musk satellites broaden reach in maritime

The company says being an authorised reseller means it can now offer SD-WAN automatic and dynamic switching between Starlink, VSAT, Iridium, Fleetbroadband and 4G/5G LTE services, resulting in a seamless user experience unthinkable just a few months ago.

Billionaire Elon Musk’s firm Space X has thousands of satellites orbiting Earth at about 550km, much closer than standard satellites, which means latency is much lower and access from remoter regions easier.

The system consists of two flat panel antennae that require a minimum of space above deck. No matter how many vessels hook up to Starlink, all systems can be monitored and managed remotely from a single digital portal. It also has end-to-end encryption to ensure safe data traffic and protect the confidentiality of its contents.

Castor Marine CEO Ivo Veldkamp has since said he expects Musk’s system to replace 4G/5G connectivity on merchant marine and offshore vessels and yachts.

“Vessels currently replying on VSAT will add Starlink for their high bandwidth requirements, while keeping VSAT on board as a back-up and fail-over service,” he said.

In September, Marlink announced it had added Starlink to its portfolio.

“Starlink is a ground-breaking service, bringing a new level of connectivity at sea, accelerating automation and digitalisation for shipowners and improving internet experience for everybody on board,” said Mark Olthius, Castor Marine director. ”We see a big demand from both our established customer base and new customers.”