Plugging the ship
into the Internet
Cruise ships and other vessels with C-band access can already plug into the web. Other ships may have to wait for Teledesic's Internet-in-the-Sky, though Inmarsat also has something in the works
NCL's newest flagship, Norwegian Sky, is the first cruise
ship to offer guests and crew members Internet access from the
high seas. Another vessel soon to be Internet ready is the elegant
S/S Norway. These services are being made possible through Maritime
Telecommunications Network, Inc.'s advanced satellite technology.
Fiber optic cabling links the ships' communications centers with
newly installed Internet Cafes, while a Remote Access Server
(RAS), connecting directly to the ships' PBX, allows up to 16
users to connect simultaneously to the Internet from laptop computers
in their cabins. The software making the shipboard Internet Cafes
a reality comes from Digital
Seas International.
Maritime Telecommunications Network, Inc. (MTN), a unit of ICG
Satellite Services is the leading provider of C-Band voice, fax,
data and Internet communications to the cruise industry, the
U.S. Navy and the industry. It also provides ship-to-shore live
video and radio broadcast capabilities in C- or Ku-Band. Ships
equipped with C-band satcom capabilities can access a range of
telecommunications capabilities simply not available to most
ships, at least not yet.
For cruise lines, Internet access is just one more option to offer passengers who now expect the broadest possible range of onboard recreational choices. Most shipowners, though, have yet to see the commercial possibilities that linking ships to the Internet and the World Wide Web opens up. The industry is only just starting to realize that e-mail sent via satcom has some distinct advantages over telex. And the e-mail capabilities of most shipboard satcom systems is rather more limited than shoreside users are accustomed to.
FREQUENCY
Commercial satellite communications are mostly carried in the
Super High Frequency range from just above 1GHz to around 60GHz.
These frequencies are divided into bands, those most used for
satcoms being the L, S, C, X, Ku and Ka bands.
The bands at the lower end of the spectrum generally have better propagation properties, while those at the higher end suffer from atmospheric attenuation problems such as rain fade. The higher the band, the greater the need for antenna accuracy-an important consideration in marine applications where yaw, pitch and roll are significant concerns. "L-band," according to Inmarsat's Philip Van Bergen, "is more forgiving of pointing errors than, say, C-band." This is one of the reasons why Inmarsat uses L-band as its operating frequency for the satellite to mobile terminal link. It is also one of the reasons why the sort of C-band services offered by MTN are most attractive to large, stable ships, such a cruise liners, aircraft carriers and offshore installations.
Space in the L-band spectrum is crowded and Van Bergen says that Inmarsat is fighting a constant battle to make more efficient use of its finite allocation through digital technology and frequency re-use schemes, such as spot-beams.
INMARSAT PLANS WEB ACCESS
Does all this mean that access to the World Wide Web from ships
will forever be restricted to vessels capable of mounting C-band
antennas? "Despite some die-hards being skeptical,"
Van Bergen sees "a plethora" of maritime applications
for which the Web is suited.
"The problem," he explains, "is that the Web is
based on packet switched data, a technology which is eminently
suited to a volume-based tariff, whereas most web access mechanisms
(including Inmarsat data channels and the average shore telephone)
are circuit-switched and hence time-based.
"Ordinarily this does not matter in a shore environment,
but when one is paying up to $10 per minute for a 64 kbps Inmarsat
circuit it becomes very important."
In order to release the potential of the Web for the benefit
of vessels at sea, Inmarsat will focus on the introduction of
packet data web-access technology, dramatically cutting the cost
of Web access. Van Bergen says that, in theory, a ship-based
user connected to the Web over a packet switched service could
be on-line all day without paying a cent so long as no data transfer
took place. A tariff would kick in only when data transfer was
instigated, for example when requesting a page of Web information.
Since the data transfer time of a typical 20-minute Web session
takes no more than five per cent of the time on-line, it can
be seen that this technology may cost-effectively open up the
potential of the Web for numerous web-enabled maritime applications.
Vessels can connect to their corporate Intranet and remain on-line
permanently, having e-mail delivered to them as it is sent, thus
eliminating the need to dial in specifically to collect messages.
In this way, says Van Bergen, e-mail will achieve the immediacy
of telex aboard ship.
WHAT ABOUT THE LEOS AND MEOS?
Meantime, an increasing number of satcom services are opening
up featuring LEO (low Earth orbit) and MEO (medium Earth orbiting)
constellations of satellites.
Essentially, the closer a satellite constellation is to Earth,
the more minimal the antenna needed to contact it. That's why
you can now buy a satellite phone that's not a lot bigger than
a regular cell phone. However, the closer the constellation to
Earth, the more satellites are required for suitable coverage.
The MEO systems need at least a dozen; the LEO systems need at
least four dozen. There are also other factors that add to the
complexity and cost of LEO systems. Iridium,
one of the first of the LEOs, has built a $5 billion global communications
system, with 66 satellites linked via ground stations to existing
wireless infrastructure, allowing transmission of phone calls
and paging worldwide. Iridium consortium members include Lockheed
Martin, Raytheon, SK Telecom, and Sprint. Motorola, which owns
18% of Iridium, is the chief manufacturer of the satellites and
Iridium's handheld phones. However, Iridium's initial pricing
left it scrambling for customers. It has filed for bankruptcy
protection and is restructuring-and cutting prices.
ICO, a MEO system whose investors include Inmarsat, hasn't even started to offer services yet, but it, too, has filed for Chapter 11 protection. Commenting on the filing, Chief Executive Officer Richard Greco said, "Additional financial resources will be required to complete our system and begin commercial operations, and we have made considerable progress towards accomplishing these goals. A number of our strategic investors have confirmed their continuing interest in providing the company financial support. Our Chapter 11 filing should provide ICO with the extra time needed to reorganize, recapitalize, and complete our financing. We believe that our actions will be successful, and that ICO will emerge as a very effective competitor in providing global mobile satellite telephone services."
ENTER MCAW AND GATES
One LEO system is not facing these problems. And it looks very
much as though it could provide ships with web access solutions.
Privately held Teledesic
has raised more than $1.5 billion. Telecommunications pioneer
Craig McCaw and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are the company's
two primary founding investors. Strategic investors also include
Motorola, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and The Boeing Company.
Teledesic is building a global, broadband Internet-in-the-Sky.
Using a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites, Teledesic
and its international partners are creating the world's first
network designed to provide affordable, worldwide, "fiber-like"
access to telecommunications services such as computer networking,
broadband Internet access, high-quality voice and other digital
data needs.
The Teledesic system, with a staggering 288 satellites, plus
spares, is designed to support millions of simultaneous users.
Multiple manufacturers will offer a family of user equipment
to access the network. Most users will have two-way connections
that provide up to 64 Mbps on the downlink and up to 2 Mbps on
the uplink. Higher-speed terminals will offer 64 Mbps or greater
of two-way capacity. This is more than 2,000 times faster than
today's standard analog modems.
Teledesic says the system's low orbit eliminates the long
signal delay normally experienced in satcoms and enables the
use of small, low-power terminals and antennas.
Design, production and deployment of the Teledesic system will
cost more than $9 billion. End-user rates will be set by service
providers, but Teledesic expects rates to be comparable to those
of future urban wireline services for broadband service.
Teledesic will operate in the high-frequency Ka-band of the
radio spectrum (28.6 - 29.1 GHz uplink and 18.8 - 19.3 GHz downlink)
Teledesic has cleared major regulatory hurdles. and last month,
confirming a story in the Wall Street Journal, Teledesic announced
that it was exploring early market entry strategies, though it
was coy on the details.
"Despite current conditions in the satellite communications
market, Teledesic is in an enviable position," said Bill
Owens, Teledesic's co-chief executive officer. "We have
money in the bank. We have the time necessary to evaluate opportunities
created by the unfortunate difficulties of others. We have investors
with long-term vision. And above all, we have the hands-on commitment
and proven track record of Craig McCaw." McCaw is Teledesic's
chairman and co-CEO.
Meanwhile, Teledesic is continuing a technical and business review with Motorola. "We remain fully committed to Teledesic's vision of delivering global, broadband communications, but we believe it is prudent for us to continue the review of our proposed system with Motorola," Owens said. "This will give us more time to fine-tune our system design and business plan while we also evaluate promising early-entry options." ML