O3b Networks Unveils O3bMaritime: The Ultimate Connectivity Solution for Cruise Ships and Super-Yachts
St. John, Jersey, Channel Islands – 18th June 2012 – Dedicated to delivering high-speed connectivity anywhere, O3b Networks today launched O3bMaritime – a first-of-its-kind broadband solution capable of providing cruise ship guests and crew with more than 100 times the average Internet access rates at sea.
Innovative cruise ship operators will be able to significantly enhance guest satisfaction through fast, affordable broadband connections. In game changing performance unmatched and unrivalled by current and future maritime offerings, O3bMaritime will deliver over 500 Mbps in aggregate bandwidth to a single vessel.
Cruise operators facing increasing competition from luxury shore based resorts no longer need to suffer the performance compromise necessitated by today’s maritime connections. Guests can surf, download, work, watch, speak and stream in the same way they do on land, unlocking new revenue opportunities for operators and reinforcing best-in-brand service in all aspects of the cruise experience.
“For cruise ship guests and crew, heading for the high seas has meant leaving high-speed broadband services behind,” said John Finney, Chief Commercial Officer for O3b. “It’s an ocean travel tradition that O3bMaritime will turn into a thing of the past, with fast, fiber-like connections that deliver the same high-quality Internet access and broadband experience at sea as guests are used to at home.”
The only offshore solution to deploy dedicated steerable beams, O3bMaritime will track a ship’s course continuously, optimizing performance for the guests onboard. In the competitive world of super and mega-yachts, only O3bMaritime can provide the range of benefits that overwhelm existing satellite based solutions today. O3b’s crystal clear voice and 65ms mouth-to-ear latency provides peerless voice quality.
From cruise operators to super-yachts and from guest experience to crew welfare, O3bMaritime is redefining connectivity at sea and is now less than one year from launch.
About O3b Networks Ltd.
O3b Networks is a global satellite service provider building a next-generation satellite network for telecommunications operators, Internet service providers, enterprise and Government customers in emerging markets. The O3b system will combine the global reach of satellite with the speed of a fiber‐optic network providing billions of consumers and businesses in nearly 180 countries with low‐cost, high‐speed, low latency Internet and mobile connectivity. O3b Networks’ investors are SES, Google, Liberty Global, HSBC Principal Investments, Northbridge Venture Partners, Allen & Company, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Sofina, Satya Capital and Luxempart. O3b Networks is headquartered in St. John, Jersey, Channel Islands.