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Vikmar: Wiring the World at Sea |
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Written by B. Tyril
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Saturday, 12 April 2008 |
Several Faroese vessel operators save tens of thousands of euros per year in telephone bills by using broadband Internet connections throughout their organizations — talking for free between ships at sea and offices on land.
The last few years have seen a revolution in connectivity enjoyed by those at sea as well as the land-based, with vessel operators saving tens of thousands of euros in telephone bills annually. As technological advances are making it possible to use satellite links in ways that were too costly and cumbersome earlier, new broadband services are popping up to offer high-speed connectivity at sea, at flat-rate fees.
A leader of the pack, Tórshavn-based marine electronics firm Vikmar, is reporting record levels of installations, even to the extent where traditional intercom (internal communication) systems are being skipped in new vessels to give way for digital communication networks.
Boosted by a new level of cooperation with its now 40-percent shareholder Faroese Telecom, Vikmar has focused for years on developing affordable and technically feasible solutions for Internet connectivity at sea.
“We recently received the first order for installing our new, integrated communication system on board a ship that’s under construction,” said Vikmar managing partner Jan Egholm. “Instead of doing it the traditional way, which is letting the shipyard deliver the old analog intercom system as part of the basic interior before electronics, our client chose to make it an integrated part of a comprehensive digital package.”
In other words, the whole works—broadband Internet, internal communications, telephony, radio and television — will be part of the same connectivity package.
“Not every vessel owner will be going to such lengths for the sake of communication but I think this should give an indication as to where things are going,” Mr Egholm added.
All in all, that record order was received from a loyal customer who knew what to ask for, both in terms of communication, navigation, and fish finding electronics.
But it’s not only the most state-of-the-art vessels that are discovering the benefits of broadband—and the VoIP (Voice or Internet Protocol) option it brings.
“I’d say some 80 percent of the pelagic fleet and some 50 percent of the filleter trawlers are now using Viknet Broadband and that’s quite understandable. These vessels are relatively large and often fish in distant waters, which means they can easily see the economic advantage in subscribing to a service that allows them not only to be online twenty-four seven but to talk on the phone at landline rates.
“A growing number of vessel owners have also discovered the advantage of our comprehensive solution which integrates their offices and their vessels into a single communication network. IP telephony technically makes telephone usage just about the same thing as surfing the Internet or sending or receiving email. In practical terms it means all internal phone calls within the organization are free and the rest is usually much cheaper than using a landline. So the seafarers will be paying just about the same as a normal landline rate when they talk to their loved ones at home.
“The alternative would be talking through a satellite phone, which buys satellite air time by the minute and that’s extremely expensive. I happen to know that some of these vessel owners save hundreds of thousands [100,000 dkk equals just about 13,410 eur] in telephone charges on an annual basis.”
So the key to Vikmar’s success in the IP phone business has to be the combination of using satellite subscription services optimally for Internet connectivity to its ocean going clients and applying the appropriate telephone systems, switchboards and handsets.
“Our cooperation with Föroya Tele makes good sense,” Mr Egholm noted.
As to the large number of smaller fishing vessels that don’t find it necessary to stay connected to the Internet all day long, Vikmar has another package, Viknet. This was in fact the predecessor to the Broadband solution and is still a highly popular Internet content delivery service.
“Viknet is perfect for many. It provides fishermen and other seafarers with a daily download of digital news and information including radio and TV, without the need to buy much satellite capacity.”
Another Vikmar subscription service has to do with AIS, automatic identification systems that provide information about ships to other ships and to coastal authorities using VHF signals. Since the Faroese government, like other governments of small countries, doesn’t operate a service to cover this function, Vikmar developed the Live AIS Web Ship Tracker, a system that offers real-time display of vessel positions with details on a graphic interface over the Internet.
Link to pdf presentation...
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Maritime & Related