[Satellite TODAY 03-14-11] Stratos Global is deploying Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband satellite communications service on Fairplay Towage’s fleet of six deep-sea tugboats, Stratos announced March 11.
    Stratos was contracted earlier this year by the shipping company to provide the service along with Stratos’ AmosConnect 8 maritime applications. Fairplay Towage will use FleetBroadband to optimize vessel performance, improve business operations and increase crew productivity. Deployment on four of the vessels has been completed with the remaining two scheduled for completion soon.
    “FleetBroadband enables us to achieve faster data transmission and better voice quality than the legacy systems we previously used at a lower cost. The system helps us improve business management by increasing the performance of many of the IP-based applications we already deploy. The wide range of Stratos value-added services, including onboard firewall and online invoicing, help ensure high security and strict cost control,” Fairplay Towage IT Manager Thomas Wesselski said in a statement.