Marlink, the smart network solutions company and OneWeb, the global space-based communications company, have announced plans to conduct the first at sea trial of OneWeb’s Low Earth Orbit(LEO) maritime service.
Marlink's 30 years of technical experience in developing and managing high quality broadband services for the maritime sector make them the ideal partner for OneWeb, contributing expertise and know-how in co-operation with OneWeb and its technology partners to trial the service to integrate it into Marlink’s hybrid smart network solutions portfolio.
The maritime trial is a significant milestone for OneWeb, as it leverages its LEO constellation to revolutionise connectivity at sea, delivering a high-speed, low-latency and globally consistent experience to all maritime users – even in the most remote sea lanes and maritime communities.
The initial integration and evaluation will take place at Marlink’s Eik teleport(Norway), with installation and on-vessel trial scheduled for Q4 2022. In co-operation with hardware providers Intellian and Hughes Network Systems, Marlink will carry out tests of the OneWeb maritime service validating throughput, latency and quality. Testing of hardware will include review of stability, signal tracking and handover capability.
This represents the first ‘at sea’ maritime trial on OneWeb’s maritime satellite service and includes evaluation of the new user terminal created by Intellian with a core module from Hughes Network Systems. Capable of performing very fast handovers between satellites passing overhead, the user terminal has been specially designed for the extremes of the maritime environment.
Marlink and OneWeb announced in January 2022 their intention to collaborate to bring the new LEO service to its customer base onshore and offshore. As an early OneWeb partner, Marlink will integrate OneWeb’s LEO service into its global, industry-leading smart hybrid network solutions alongside GEO, MEO and 4G/5G services to serve its large commercial maritime and offshore markets.
OneWeb is making significant progress in building its constellation and currently has 428 satellites in Low Earth Orbit, representing almost 70% of its planned fleet. It plans to offer a commercial maritime service from January 2023, already delivering high-speed connectivity to hundreds of customers in remote communities in Alaska, Canada, the Nordics and the North Sea.