AND Group will become the exclusive communications provider to Thome for Inmarsat FleetBroadband under the new framework agreement and will deliver the FleetBroadband service through a combination of pricing packages.

   IPSignature2 from AND Group is a combined data communications package for ship-based email, Internet access and other data applications that was developed to be compatible with Inmarsat services. The terminals set for deployment to Thome will be mostly FB500s capable of supporting up to 432kbps of standard IP data communications, as well as smaller FB250 terminals.

   “This new deal gives us options for all vessel types, and with a large and diverse fleet like ours, that level of flexibility was very attractive,” Thome Ship Management Procurement and Supply Chain Manager Ryan Dalgado said in a statement. “We liked the fact that the experience and reliability of the FleetBroadband service was consistently good. The addition of AND’s IPSignature2 service, offering simple and effective cost control tools, made it a powerful proposition.”