Marlink, the smart network company, has extended its partnership with Intelsat to offer increased Ku and C-band satellite connectivity to maritime customers in cruise and merchant shipping sectors.
The agreement will see Intelsat assign capacity to the Marlink network providing a unique level of coverage in waters as far south as Antarctica as well as ocean regions around Africa and the Middle East. Marlink will derive the additional capacity from multiple assets, including Intelsat’s high-throughput satellites.
As the cruise industry restarts its operations post-COVID, an increasing demand for digital services is driving bandwidth usage; polar cruise itineraries are growing, with specialised vessels operating in more extreme and remote locations, carrying passengers with high demand for connectivity. At the same time, vessel traffic including cargo, ice-breaking, enforcement, survey and supply ships is increasing the demand for high-quality bandwidth.
Marlink and Intelsat are longstanding partners in mobile maritime connectivity, with Intelsat supplying Ku-band GEO capacity to the Marlink hybrid network for over two decades acting as a cornerstone of Marlink’s hybrid VSAT network.