SES Broadband for Maritime
SES Broadband for Maritime is a two-way satellite broadband Internet service for use on private boats and commercial ships throughout European waters. SES Broadband for Maritime provides high-speed Internet access (at up to 2 Mbit/s downlink) along with VoIP telephone, email, and virtual private network services to vessels while at anchor/moored or in motion. The service started in September 2009. The ship-borne service is based on the SES Broadband land-based satellite broadband technology and is operated by SES Broadband Services, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, in conjunction with Korean marine antenna manufacturers KNS. Until March 2012, the service was called ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband and the operating company ASTRA Broadband Services. The name was changed in line with the rebranding of parent company SES. Uses SES Broadband for Maritime provides an always-on Internet connection to vessels, and the service can be used equally well while a vessel is either docked or underway at sea, to provide users the same connectivity capabilities they have in their homes or offices. The service is intended for pleasure crafts, fishing and coastal ships, ferries and smaller commercial cargo carriers, operating mainly in the North and Baltic Seas, and the northern Mediterranean. SES