2020-10-15

Inmarsat and Cobham SATCOM enable Maldives fisheries sustainability with Fleet One

Source: Cobham SATCOM
Curated by: Gert Jan Wolf - Editor-in Chief for The Critical Communications Review

Inmarsat, the world leader in global mobile satellite communications, and Cobham SATCOM, the market leading provider of radio and satellite communications solutions, have been awarded a new contract to connect 732 fishing vessels active in the Maldives Economic Exclusion Zone to Inmarsat’s Fleet One maritime broadband services.

Cobham’s SAILOR Fleet One utilises the existing Inmarsat-4 satellite constellation to deliver the most reliable global voice calling and internet connectivity via a compact, lightweight antenna, and a simple installation process. The technology’s affordability makes it particularly accessible for smaller boats looking to access maritime satellite communications for the first time.

The go-ahead follows trials of Fleet One services and SAILOR Fleet One terminals from Cobham aboard 15 boats, confirming that performance exceeds specifications for a new vessel monitoring system (VMS) under the Maldives’ Sustainable Fisheries Resources Development Project to improve Monitoring, Control and Surveillance in fisheries sector. The VMS project, agreed between Maldives-based Ooredoo and the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, is funded by the World Bank.

The five-year contract envisages the supply and maintenance of the VMS, to include Fleet One satellite communications over L-band from Inmarsat, airtime and secure communications server via Integrated Monitoring (IM) and SAILOR antennas from Cobham SATCOM installed by Ooredoo.