ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband is a two-way satellite broadband Internet service for use on private boats and commercial ships throughout European waters.
ASTRA2Connect provides high-speed Internet access (at up to 2Mbit/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 ASTRA2Connect land-based satellite broadband technology and is operated by ASTRA Broadband Services (ABBS), a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg, in conjunction with Korean marine antenna manufacturers KNS.[1]
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ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband 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.[2] ASTRA2Connect coverage is available throughout Europe and so the service may also be used by boats on in-land waterways.[3]
Astra Broadband Services claims that the service provides for all aspects of maritime communications, including:[4]
The main alternative to the service is Inmarsat's FleetBroadband service that, although almost global in reach, is based on 3G technologies and limited to a 432Kbits/s download speed.[5]
ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband is marketed to end users by third party service providers, of which there is currently one for all of Europe – UK-based H2OSatellite. The H2OLitespeed package includes hardware rental and broadband access in a fixed-rate monthly fee, dependent on the speed of connection (512Kbit/s download, 96Kbits/s upload, 1024Kbit/s download, 128Kbits/s upload, and 2048Kbit/s download, 128Kbits/s upload are available).[3]
The Internet connection provided by ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband is a two-way satellite link between the user’s vessel and the Astra 1E communications satellite at 23.5° east, which in turn is linked to the Astra Broadband Services HQ and teleport in Betzdorf where a hub connects to the Internet backbone.
Downlinks and uplinks to/from the vessel's antenna comprise IP data embedded in a DVB-S2 carrier using the Ku band (10.70 GHz-12.75 GHz for downlink, 14.00 GHz-14.50 GHz for uplink).
Vessels using ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband require a simple VSAT terminal comprising an antenna developed by KNS[6] and modem from Newtec.[7] The antenna is an in-motion motorised and stabilised dish for reception and transmission (500 mW), which automatically aligns to the Astra 1E satellite and maintains its orientation (and therefore the IP link to the satellite) even while the vessel is in motion – underway, manoeuvring, rolling or pitching.
ASTRA2Connect Maritime Broadband uses the KNS SuperTrack A9 antenna – an 85 cm dish weighing 57 kg, housed in a 110 cm x 103 cm protective radome – which is mounted on the superstructure and connected to an ACU (Antenna Control Unit) in the control room. Also in the control room, the ASTRA2Connect satellite modem connects to the dish’s iLNB and to the user's local area network using a standard 8P8C Ethernet connector, behaving as an IP Bridge.