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Speedcast adds 13 Gbps of capacity to Unified Global Platform as cruise ships return

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A Speedcast cruise ship radome
In response to surging demand in the cruise and energy markets it serves, Speedcast significantly expanded its Unified Global Platform (UGP), adding 13 Gbps of capacity to its network over the last month.

The platform now includes 30 Gbps of total bandwidth, which the company leverages in the design and deployment of complete managed connectivity solutions.

Speedcast’s network size now significantly surpasses 2020 pre-pandemic levels.

Cruise resumption drives growth

This record-setting growth was driven in part by the cruise industry, which was slated to bring 51 ships back into service during May alone.

Many cruise line restart plans include vessels returning to 100% capacity, and with the May additions, just under 350 ships and over 550,000 berths will be in service globally.

The rapid network expansion has been made possible in part by the company’s TrueBeam automated network management technology, which operates on the back of Speedcast’s UGP. TrueBeam enables proactive monitoring, automatically selecting the optimal network path for a remote site without human intervention.

Algorithmic technologies are critical to delivering the Speedcast network’s massive multi-path and multi-orbit capacity with high quality of service.

Intelligent system

Speedcast said the intelligent system understands, predicts and mitigates network challenges based on changes in operating environment, giving remote sites the ability to switch among satellites and between routes to seamlessly maintain communications, even while moving in and out of a satellite beam’s coverage area. The company completed patent filings on the smart network management solution earlier this year.

‘The fast ramp-up of capacity Speedcast achieved really shows the power of software-defined networks,’ Speedcast CEO Joe Spytek said. ‘We’re incorporating all available technologies and network options — multi-path and multi-orbit — to offer the most cost-effective connectivity solutions with the highest levels of availability and flexibility. Being technology-agnostic, we can also shield the customer from the risks of technology obsolescence and loss of service that come with dependence on a specific network.’

New teleport supports added capacity

Speedcast completed the extensive upgrade over a five-week period in April and May and expanded its ground network to include a new teleport to support the added capacity, enabling access to a broader range of satellite infrastructure.

Speedcast also recently announced it will integrate low Earth orbit connectivity into its UGP as an official Distribution Partner to OneWeb, ensuring that customers in the maritime, energy and enterprise industries benefit from a multi-path, multi-orbit future. Customer demonstrations and trials of the low latency solution are to begin soon.

TAGS: Speedcast