LEO satellite constellations are transforming business connectivity at sea, enabling greater levels of digitalisation while significantly reducing costs. LEO connectivity is anticipated to capture 40% of the global satcom marketplace by 2030–with the maritime sector leading the way. LEO connectivity is also affecting the pricing across the market. Fixed satellite service fees are set to drop by more than 20% by 2028. In the maritime sector, the possible speed limits have increased more than tenfold–from1.5-2 Mbps typical for VSAT to 220 Mbps over Starlink. Affordable connectivity has also allowed for a significant improvement in well-being on board, becoming the determining factor in talent attraction and retention. IEC Telecom stresses the importance of crew voucher systems to achieve online flexibility for crew members. At the corporate end, investing in network management is no longer an option, but a critical need with such a solution, the ICT manager can authorise nearly unlimited access to digital resources over LEO while limiting the list of applications for VSAT and further narrowing it down for L-band. Moreover, with the right set of optimised applications, a vessel can continue its digital course, even in a low bandwidth environment. Read more about how IEC Telecom Group is empowering maritime operations with smart solutions in this recent publication by Nabil Ben Soussia, Group CCO at IEC Telecom, for Middle East Report 2024.
