Carnival Cruises, Tullow Oil and Al Jazeera are key customers for satellite capacity. With many High Throughput Satellites (HTS) coming online, are satellite operators beginning to really meet the needs of some of their main customer targets?
Reza Rasoulian, vice president of global connectivity and shipbound technology operations at Carnival Corp., says that while change is coming from the satellite industry, “from a customers’ viewpoint, it is probably not fast enough.” Carnival has a fleet of more than 100 ships. Some of the newest ships have 5,000 people on board, and the company has now deployed the WiFi@Sea experience to 30 out of 100 ships.
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“I would like to see innovation in areas such as antenna technology,” Rasoulian says. “On the ground side, we want higher throughputs, higher return channels.” The company has doubled its take rates since launching its connectivity programs.
Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim Nassar says satellite still has a “significant” role in the broadcaster’s business. “We use more than 1 Gbps of satellite and 3 Gbps of fiber capacity,” he says. HTS are making a difference: “These satellites bring a very nice solution to us. We have huge amounts of content, so we need these satellites.”
Tullow Oil’s Richard Mikisa says demand for satellite capacity is in decline right now due to low oil prices. “If you are looking to invest and sign new VSAT contracts, if you aren’t drilling as much then you cut down.” He notes that MEO systems could be interesting but remain expensive. “They will definitely change things. The only way to get communications in the offshore market is VSAT.” VS
Mark Holmes is the editorial director of Via Satellite and Avionics magazines.
