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Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime: Meeting Post-pandemic Maritime and Aviation Connectivity Expectations

Real-time high-data rate connectivity at any place is a hot topic within the maritime and aviation industries. The pandemic has shifted expectations and demand for (satellite) connectivity in remote areas at sea and in the air. With upgrades in technology, ground infrastructures, terminals and satellite capabilities, next-gen connectivity onboard an airline’s or ship owner’s fleet is closer than ever – but some key hurdles are yet to be overcome.

Managing a change in connectivity appetite

The pandemic has fuelled a shift in customers’ needs for connectivity for passengers and crew members – there is a craving for a ‘home-like’, ‘shore-like’ or ‘ground-like’ experience for those on an aircraft or vessel, even if they are in remote areas. Real-time services which require increased bandwidth due to higher data rates, such as video calling, content streaming and working remotely, have become such a big part of day-to-day life that it is unthinkable for many to not have access to this when at sea or in the air. While for passengers this is a nice-to-have, having access to such real-time connectivity anytime, anywhere, is of extreme importance to crew wellbeing as well as remote training and operations.

While there is a big push on the passenger’s and crew’s needs for advanced connectivity systems within maritime and aviation, there is also a significant necessity for fast connectivity for remote maintenance and decarbonisation within both industries.

Cost: the final frontier?

But there are some major barriers in the way of implementing connectivity: the cost of technology integration is key. In many places across the globe, wifi and connectivity is available for consumers without any extra cost. Shopping centres, sports stadiums, hospitals – all provide access to wifi for little to no money. Aircraft and vessels are one of the few places on Earth where the cost of connectivity is still incredibly high, and it is hard to make this a free service for many airlines and shipping organisations alike.

In commercial aviation, customers are still willing to fly on aircraft that have no access to connectivity, however following our conversations with airlines in the industry, there is a concern that in the years to come this may shift and customers may decide to not fly with an airline due to their lack of (reliable) connectivity. Meanwhile, fuel prices, general maintenance costs and as such ticket prices increase – a lot of which comes back down to consumers.

From a maritime and aviation end-user perspective, one of the key issues that directly result into the price of connectivity is the ease of connecting to broadband in remote areas. While new satellite constellations in low-Earth orbit (LEO) offer promising capabilities to the mobility sectors, and the aviation and maritime industries in particular - especially when they are combined with existing satellite and ground network infrastructure - there are challenges for these industries to switch to new networks.

Next-gen satellite technology and ground infrastructure

First of all, the soon-to-be operational LEO constellations are still being launched and are not fully functional yet to these end-user markets. On top of that, there is a necessity for these satellite constellations to connect with satellites in other orbits to ensure a fast-speed connection – both for download and upload. Passengers and crew members would like to and would need to have access to cloud services among other services, which requires high bandwidth in both directions. Latency is another area of importance: you can have a 4G signal on your phone and that gives you a lot of bandwidth coming through but if the latency is reduced it takes forever to download. A good passenger experience is function of speed times latency. Latency figures are akin to what is realised in terrestrial broadband networks. That is where it really makes a difference – and that’s what the maritime and aviation industries are aiming for when flying or sailing in remote areas.

The key to future remote connectivity: a next-gen flexible and reliable ground infrastructure

The majority of vessels and aircraft are currently connected through onboard antennas and infrastructure that can only be linked to one network. These current technological infrastructures do not allow maritime and aviation companies to switch to other, cheaper, faster and more reliable networks. If they would want to do so, an aircraft or vessel needs to go to a port or dock, have its entire connectivity system removed and a new one reinstalled. From a maintenance perspective, this is incredibly expensive as the technology requires a total overhaul while the vessel or aircraft is also not in service and as such becoming a money pit.

Even if an airline or ship manager decides to upgrade the onboard infrastructure to connect with another network, there is no guarantee that this network is still the best in five to ten years’ time. If one wants to connect to another network, another overhaul is required due to lack of hybrid network connectivity capabilities.

At the end of the day, anybody providing connectivity services has to offer a price that is compatible with the marketplace. Airlines and maritime organisations, irrespective of their band, want lowest possible price. Join us at the Mobility Connectivity Conference this November 15-17 in Bremen, Germany, to learn about the latest developments regarding connectivity at sea or in the air. register here.