Thrane & Thrane and Applied Satellite Technology Australia (ASTA) join forces for next generation KU-Band VSAT Antenna System

Thrane & Thrane,  and one of its distributors, AST Australia, have extended the existing distribution agreement for SAILOR equipment to also include the new SAILOR 900 VSAT antenna system.

Richard Coston, Sales Director at ASTA said; "We are very pleased to have the SAILOR 900 VSAT in our VSAT portfolio. It greatly complements the rest of the SAILOR product range of broadband satellite terminals and will be an integral part of our customised VSAT solutions across all market sectors".

The increasing usage of data on ships of all sizes has seen almost four years of tremendous success of the Inmarsat FleetBroadband satellite services and the SAILOR FleetBroadband user terminals, but it also reflects an increasing demand for maritime VSAT. For Thrane & Thrane that means a high-quality, high-performance, stabilised maritime Ku-band VSAT antenna, which has recently been launched.

Ku-band satellite service is available both on single beams at competitive rates and as international multi-region coverage, which is still growing. The use of IP based applications at sea is expanding to the benefit of operational and cost efficiency amongst vessel owners and operators.

Scientific Approach

In the process of creating the SAILOR 900 VSAT, Thrane & Thrane started with recording ship motion data during all of 2010 in order to determine the real stress and vibrations happening on real ships. Jens Ewerling, Global VSAT Business Manager further explains: "Thrane & Thrane then built the industry’s only multi-axis Advanced Dyanmics Simulator which now allows us to apply the comprehensive data recordings and design a true maritime antenna based on actual ship dynamics." With the quality and performance targets set, Thrane & Thrane were determined to improve on what was already available.

Reduce Current Costs

The extensive result of this research and testing is a high-performance stabilised antenna that provides a lower overall cost of ownership. This new antenna also has built-in-testing (BIT) embedded software monitoring all the hardware and software systems. This data can be accessed by remote connection over Inmarsat FleetBroadband or the VSAT link directly. Flexibility is also an important aspect; a VSAT service provider like AST Australia can already choose to deploy the SAILOR 900 VSAT antenna system to work with the iDirect iNFINITI 5100 and iDirect Evolution X5 platforms, the Comtech EF Data’s CDM570L SCPC modem, optionally with Vipersat and ROSS.

One of the major benefits of the new SAILOR 900 VSAT is that it is straightforward to install and commission, which in turn can significantly reduce procurement and maintenance costs. Every SAILOR 900 VSAT antenna system comes factory-tested, and equipped with standardised top quality components. This means the antenna is shipped tested, fully balanced and does not need to be adjusted prior to installation on board. Minimal planning, preparation and installation combined with the fact that SAILOR 900 VSAT requires only a single standard antenna, and at 110kg is the lightest in its class, make the Thrane & Thrane SAILOR 900 VSAT antenna system the most cost effective to deploy on the market.

Stephan Jørgensen, Director at Thrane & Thrane: "ASTA are very experienced in VSAT solutions particularly for the Australian region and I am very pleased to have ASTA as a key launch partner for the SAILOR 900 VSAT in the region."