“For the last two years we see double-digit growth of customers taking up FleetBroadband and Maritime VSAT,” Lim Kian Soon head of satellite for SingTel told Seatrade Global.
SingTel offers both its own Maritime VSAT service utilising its own ST2 satellite and is also a reseller of Inmarsat services such as FleetBroadband.
“We see that trend as continuing as more customers see the need for crew welfare, more customers understand the need for deploying new applications onboard vessels,” he said.
SingTel is seeing growth from newbuildings and existing vessels and customers
“We are seeing existing vessels upgrading from narrow band to broadband, upgrading to higher committed broadband services, for those using fleet broadband also seeing some interest in migrating upwards to using maritime VSAT,” Lim explained.
He said SingTel’s customers were looking to invest in, and find out how to make more use of maritime communications. Even more conservative companies were seen as becoming more open to adopting new technology.
With Global Xpress coming in 2015 SingTel expects to be able to offer customers the same price as they have now with double the bandwith. However, Lim sees the most important aspect of Global Express will be the ability of software developers to put their applications on the platform rather than customers having to deal individually with each software provider.
In terms of its own services SingTel is working on a new service to launch next month that will enable seafarers to make VOIP calls from their smartphones while aboard the vessel.
It also working with partners to develop new business applications. “We are working with some ship managers and some software developers on some trial projects to see how business can benefit using more business applications onboard the vessels,” Lim said.
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