Ericsson
and
Inmarsat
sign
a
strategic
agreement
that
will
transform
the
future
of
the
connected
ship
Inmarsat
and
Ericsson
have
signed
a
strategic
maritime
agreement
that
is
intended
to
facilitate
the
sharing
of
cargo,
logistics
and
vessel
operational
data
to
help
streamline
the
maritime
supply
chain.
The
two
companies
will
jointly
develop
services,
solutions
and
applications
to
drive
industry
standards
for
satellite
connectivity
and
application
integration
in
the
maritime
industry.
As a
first
step,
Ericsson
has
signed
a
distribution
contract
to
offer
XpressLink,
Inmarsat’s
combined
L-band
and
Ku-band
VSAT
network
for
the
maritime
market.
XpressLink
offers
an
easy
upgrade
path
to
Inmarsat’s
Fleet
Xpress
service,
powered
by
the
new
Global
Xpress
constellation,
when
it
becomes
available
in
the
coming
months.
It
is
intended
that
the
distribution
agreement
with
Ericsson
will
be
extended
to
Fleet
Xpress
at
that
time.
The
new
strategic
relationship
will
also
pave
the
way
for
integration
between
Ericsson’s
Maritime
ICT
Cloud
and
global
connectivity
delivered
over
Inmarsat’s
satellite
communications
network,
including
both
Ka
and
L-band.
Ericsson’s
Maritime
ICT
Cloud
is
an
end-to-end
managed
cloud
solution
that
connects
vessels
at
sea
to
shore-based
operations
including
maintenance
service
providers,
customer
support
centers,
fleet/transportation
partners,
port
operations
and
authorities.
Enabled
by
Inmarsat,
the
Maritime
ICT
Cloud
will
ensure
that
trucks
will
spend
less
idle
time
at
ports,
cargo
will
spend
less
time
in
transit,
and
producers
will
be
better
able
to
plan
their
shipments.
An
example
of
how
the
strategic
cooperation
agreement
works
in
practice
was
highlighted
with
the
recent
announcement
of a
contract
between
Ericsson
and
U-Ming
Marine,
a
leading
shipping
company
specializing
in
the
transportation
of
cement,
dry
commodities
and
industrial
raw
materials.
Ericsson
will
provide
U-Ming
Marine
with
end-to-end
connected
vessel
and
voyage
optimization
solutions,
including
satellite
connectivity
from
Inmarsat.
Ronald
Spithout,
President
Inmarsat
Maritime,
says:
“With
Fleet
Xpress,
the
world’s
first
mobile
hybrid
Ka/L-band
high-speed
broadband
service,
embedded
in
and
enabling
world-class
solutions
from
Ericsson,
we
are
re-defining
maritime
connectivity.
This
transformational
agreement
will
open
up
opportunities
for
vessel
operators
and
managers
to
capture
intelligent
data
immediately.
“Everyone
is
talking
about
‘big
data’,
but
eventually
it
is
the
deployment
of
applications
onboard
and
the
end-to-end
management
of
integrated
intelligence,
that
will
ultimately
change
the
way
the
maritime
industry
operates;
making
it
more
efficient,
greener
and
unlocking
greater
value.
We
are
happy
that
the
reliability
of
the
Inmarsat
constellation
of
satellites
and
operational
standards
are
recognized
as
the
best
fit
in
the
Ericsson
roadmap
of
integrated
services.”
John
Taxgaard,
Head
of
Maritime
at
Ericsson,
says:
“Ericsson
believes
that
the
Internet
of
Things
has
the
potential
to
generate
tremendous
value
for
the
maritime
industry.
Partnering
with
the
leading
provider
of
global
mobile
satellite
communications
services
is
the
best
means
of
helping
the
maritime
industry
to
realize
this
value.
Together
with
Inmarsat
we
will
jointly
develop
fully
integrated
services,
solutions
and
applications,
and
work
toward
establishing
maritime
industry
standards
for
satellite
connectivity
and
application
integration.”
