The oceans are the last ‘white spot’ for
the mobile communication industry to connect. Global shipping company
Maersk Line has appointed Ericsson to address this by introducing
end-to-end integration and deployment of mobile and satellite
communication to its entire vessel fleet.
The Maersk Line fleet comprises more than
500 container vessels. Over the next two years, Maersk Line will outfit
400 of these vessels with Ericsson antennas and GSM base stations, with
upgrades to be made to the remaining vessels soon after, the company
said.
As part of the agreement, Ericsson will
provide seven years of global managed services support, including 24/7
network monitoring and onboard maintenance services in a large number of
ports across all major regions.
“We’re proud to be able to connect Maersk
Line’s fleet with our technology. We believe in a Networked Society,
where connectivity will only be the starting point for new ways of
innovating, collaborating and socializing. The result will be automated
and simplified processes, higher productivity, real-time information
allowing quicker, more informed decision making and problem solving,”
Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg said.
Mobile communication provides the
opportunity to employ new and efficient ways of addressing fleet
management, managing delivery times, improving interaction with vessels,
enabling proactive issue resolution, prompt information sharing with
customers and even improving energy efficiency for the shipping
industry.
“We’re quite pleased to be the first
fleet to be connected with mobile communication technology. We believe
the opportunities this will provide us to improve our communication with
our colleagues at sea, as well as our service to customers, are many,
and we will certainly be looking at all of them in near future,” Vice
President of Maersk Line Operations Soren Toft said.
Maersk Line’s high-tech modern container
ships have been equipped with satellite connectivity until now. This was
primarily intended to support communication for vital shipboard
functions.
But Ericsson’s integrated maritime mobile
and very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite solution will bring
extended connectivity to the entire fleet, allowing for new ways of
communicating and contributing to efficiency, reliability and cost
reduction, the company stated.
Comments
Post a Comment