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Wireless communication making waves
Wireless communication has few boundaries these days. Consumers expect their mobile phones to work anytime and anywhere. And now network coverage has broken through one of the final frontiers as SeaMobile and Ericsson introduce wireless voice and data services at sea.
October 19, 2005
SeaMobile, a leading provider of wireless voice communication services and data applications at sea, signed a three-year contract with Ericsson in October. Together the two companies will provide a solution that allows the use of mobile devices – cellular phones, PDAs and laptop computers – on board cruise ships and other at-sea vessels.
With a commercial launch later this year, SeaMobile president and CEO William Marks says the solution fills a long-standing void. "We develop our services and products around customer needs and passengers are looking for connectivity even while they are on vacation," Marks says. "The market is there and so we've built a product around it."
The cruise-ship industry has changed significantly over the last five years, attracting a younger market of passengers who are used to having connectivity to stay in touch with work colleagues, family and friends while on vacation. According to SeaMobile, travel agents are reporting that vacationers are less inclined to book a cruise-ship break because they feel uncomfortable being out of touch from business or family.
While the cruise-ship industry is the primary target, the partnership will also allow SeaMobile to provide the same service to other segments of the maritime industry, including ferries, yachts, container ships and the offshore oil and gas industry.
Ericsson's base-station technology includes a complete wireless network with core infrastructure, radio equipment that supports GSM, GPRS and WiFi and network monitoring and rollout services that make it possible for people at sea to use mobile phones and PDAs as they would on land. A micro base-station onboard a vessel is connected to the ground via satellite. WiFi is also supported to provide internet access from personal WiFi enabled laptop computers.
A key factor in SeaMobile's partnership choice is that Ericsson will manage the core network from its Network Operations Center at its North American headquarters in Texas. Indeed, one of the reasons the company decided to collaborate with Ericsson on the solution is the quality of the core network and the fact that it enables remote monitoring which is not available for any services on ships today.
At present, the primary option for passengers is to place calls from the ship-to-shore phone installed in their cabin. This service is much more expensive than the SeaMobile wireless option and also limits the passenger’s ability to receive calls.
With the new service, cost varies by zone although SeaMobile estimates that around 90 percent of calls will be charged at a rate of USD 1.99 a minute, plus any taxes and surcharges applied by the home carrier. The charges for service while at sea on the Seamobile network will appear on the customer’s home carrier bill just as roaming charges would.
The service has already generated a great deal of interest from the cruise-ship industry.
"I would venture to say that probably 95 percent of all ships will be connected in the next three years," Marks says. "There is a strong desire to get this service onboard."
