Photo: Viasat

Inmarsat Maritime said it is set for a “dramatic increase” in capacity for its NexusWave bonded connectivity service for the maritime market with new capacity from the ViaSat-3 network. In addition, the new VS60 maritime terminal built by Intellian will support applications like enterprise networking and video streaming. 

The recently launched second ViaSat-3 satellite is set to more than double the capacity of Viasat’s entire network. Inmarsat Maritime is a Viasat company. This satellite is currently en route to its final orbital position and will cover the Americas. The third satellite will cover the Asia-Pacific region. 

Inmarsat Maritime said the added ViaSat-3 capacity will allow for faster data transfers and improved network efficiency and a ‘home-like’ internet experience onboard. The more than 1,000 steerable spot beams on each satellite are designed to match demand across global shipping lanes, ports, and offshore locations.

NexusWave, announced in 2024, combines capacity from Geostationary Orbit (GEO) Ka-band, Low-Earth Orbit (LEO), LTE, and L-band networks in an intelligent connectivity solution. 

Viasat CFO Gary Chase recently told investors that the NexusWave service has a large base of orders to be installed and the business is focused on installations. Total installed vessels across all Inmarsat Maritime solutions declined on both a year-over-year and sequential basis in the most recent quarter to 13,650 vessels. Chase said non-safety, stand-alone L-band customers are migrating to multi-band multi-orbit solutions like NexusWave. 

“The combination of NexusWave’s bonded, multi-orbit architecture, and the new ViaSat-3-ready terminal developed with Intellian puts us in a strong position to support the operational priorities of global fleets. It reinforces our long-term commitment to reliability, security, and customer experience at sea, and enables fleets to scale seamlessly with future capacity as the network expands,” commented Gert-Jan Panken, vice president of Inmarsat Maritime.