A comparative study of the maritime satellite internet services available to the Finnish shipowner

Abstract

This thesis studies the maritime satellite internet networks and the differences between service providers whose services are available to the Finnish shipowner. Seven service providers were chosen for this research, based on their market visibility and availability of services to the Finnish shipowner. The companies studied were Inmarsat, Intelsat, Iridium, One-Web, SES, Starlink and Telesat. By only using publicly available information on the internet, I set out to research the segments on which the maritime satellite broadband networks are built on, and to discover the history, background and technology of each company. The gathered information was viewed in this thesis from merchant shipping’s point of view but is in many ways compatible with other types of vessels.

Based on the available information, the companies operating their satellite constellations in low Earth orbit are the most capable ones to provide fast and reliable internet to a ship sailing at any location. Three of the seven companies studied have their constellations in low Earth orbit. These companies are Iridium, OneWeb and Starlink, Starlink being the obvious leader in the market with its advanced technologies and large fleet of satellites.

This research could be beneficial to a shipowner planning on acquiring a new satellite broadband service to an existing vessel or a newbuilt. However, the final decision to acquire a certain system should not only be made based on my research but to use the information as a basis and consult the companies themselves.