SES Broadband for Maritime

SES Broadband for Maritime is a two-way satellite broadband Internet service for use on private boats and commercial ships throughout European waters.

SES Broadband for Maritime provides high-speed Internet access (at up to 2Mbit/s downlink) along with telephone, email, and virtual private network services to vessels while at anchor/moored or in motion. The service started in September 2009.

The ship-borne service is based on the SES Broadband land-based satellite broadband technology and is operated by SES Broadband Services, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, in conjunction with Korean marine antenna manufacturers KNS.

Until March 2012, the service was called ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband and the operating company ASTRA Broadband Services. The name was changed in line with the rebranding of parent company SES.

SES Broadband for Maritime provides an always-on Internet connection to vessels, and the service can be used equally well while a vessel is either docked or underway at sea, to provide users the same connectivity capabilities they have in their homes or offices.

The service is intended for pleasure crafts, fishing and coastal ships, ferries and smaller commercial cargo carriers, operating mainly in the North and Baltic Seas, and the northern Mediterranean. SES Broadband for Maritime coverage is available throughout Europe and so the service may also be used by boats on in-land waterways.

SES Broadband Services claims that the service provides for all aspects of maritime communications, including:

The main alternative to the service is Inmarsat's FleetBroadband service that, although almost global in reach, is based on 3G technologies and limited to a 432kbit/s download speed.

SES Broadband for Maritime is marketed to end users by third party service providers, of which there is currently one for all of Europe – UK-based H2OSatellite. The H2OLitespeed package includes hardware rental and broadband access in a fixed-rate monthly fee, dependent on the speed of connection (512kbit/s download, 96kbit/s upload, 1024kbit/s download, 128kbit/s upload, and 2048kbit/s download, 128kbit/s upload are available).

The Internet connection provided by SES Broadband for Maritime is a two-way satellite link between the user’s vessel and the Astra 3B communications satellite at 23.5° east, which in turn is linked to the SES Broadband Services HQ and teleport in Betzdorf where a hub connects to the Internet backbone.

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Wikipedia