News
Iridium OpenPort Completes Successful Sea Trials
Iridium reports that its new-generation global marine satellite communication system, Iridium OpenPort, has successfully completed sea trials on a number of different vessels, and worldwide commercial rollout is now underway. Iridium OpenPort is the only truly global high-bandwidth marine satellite communication system, with coverage over 100 percent of the Earth's surface, including Polar waters beyond the reach of geostationary satellites. Zodiac Shipping Agencies Ltd., one of the first shipping companies to sign up for Iridium OpenPort, conducted sea trials on two ships in collaboration with Iridium Service Provider, AND Group. The vessels are currently using AND Group's Rapidomail for crew and ship's e-mail. The installations will soon be upgraded to AND's IPSignature package, which offers Internet browsing, company intranet, instant messaging and other functions as well as e-mail, according to Ian Robinson, managing director of AND Group. Peter Dohle Schiffahrts-KG conducted extensive sea trials with an Iridium OpenPort unit on a 1600 teu containership under a service agreement with Vizada, another Iridium Service Provider. Michael Dittmer, fleet IT and communication coordinator for Peter Dohle Schiffahrts-KG, reported that he was "... very happy with the service," which fulfilled his expectations. He expects to install the Iridium OpenPort units on other ships in the Peter Dohle fleet in the near future. |