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Ericsson and Inmarsat Partner on Connected Ship Products

By Caleb Henry | November 19, 2015
Ericsson Inmarsat Connected Ship

Connected ship graphic. Photo: Ericsson

[Via Satellite 11-19-2015] Inmarsat and Ericsson have signed a strategic maritime agreement to jointly develop services, solutions and applications to drive industry standards for satellite connectivity and application integration in the maritime industry. The partnership is intended to facilitate the sharing of cargo, logistics and vessel operational data to help streamline the maritime supply chain.

As a first step, Ericsson has signed a distribution contract to offer XpressLink, Inmarsat’s combined L-band and Ku-band VSAT network for the maritime market. The companies expect to transition from XpressLink to Inmarsat’s Global Xpress-powered Fleet Xpress service when it becomes available in the coming months.

The new strategic relationship will also pave the way for integration between Ericsson’s Maritime ICT Cloud and global connectivity delivered over Inmarsat’s satellite communications network, including both Ka- and L-band. Ericsson’s Maritime ICT Cloud is an end-to-end managed cloud solution that connects vessels at sea to shore-based operations including maintenance service providers, customer support centers, fleet/transportation partners, port operations and authorities. According to Inmarsat, the company’s satellite connectivity will help Maritime ICT Cloud users ensure that trucks will spend less idle time at ports, cargo will spend less time in transit, and producers will be better able to plan their shipments.