Telesat, a leading global satellite operator, and OmniAccess, a leading supplier of integrated communications solutions to superyachts and cruise ships, today announced a significant expansion in their relationship with OmniAccess contracting for high throughput satellite (HTS) capacity on Telesat’s Telstar 12 VANTAGE satellite to serve the Caribbean.
Telesat was the first satellite operator to provide bandwidth to OmniAccess and the companies have been working closely together for nearly a decade. OmniAccess has been providing mobile broadband to cruise ships and yachts in the Mediterranean using Telesat’s Telstar 11N and Telstar 12 VANTAGE satellites and also to the Atlantic using Telstar 14R in combination with Telesat’s teleport in Mount Jackson, Virginia.
For this latest agreement, OmniAccess chose the HTS Caribbean beam of Telesat’s Telstar 12 VANTAGE to bring a new standard of broadband performance to superyachts and other passenger vessels operating throughout the Caribbean – performance that supports links with aggregate throughput in excess of 220 Mbps.
“The superior performance of the HTS Caribbean beam on Telstar 12 VANTAGE enables OmniAccess to deliver our superyacht and cruise ship customers a broadband experience on par with advanced terrestrial services,” said Bertrand Hartman, OmniAccess’ CEO. “Through the innovative design of the HTS Caribbean beam on Telesat’s Telstar 12 VANTAGE, OmniAccess is providing a new level in maritime broadband across the region with 200 Mbps into vessels and over 20 Mbps on the return. OmniAccess looks forward to working with Telesat in both the Med and Caribbean and continuing to deliver outstanding broadband services to our cruise ship and superyacht customers.”
“OmniAccess has been a true innovator in implementing high performing maritime broadband in the Mediterranean and Caribbean and Telesat is pleased to be providing the satellite capacity at the core of their success,” said Tom Eaton, Vice President, International Sales for Telesat. “Telstar 12 VANTAGE is a powerful high throughput satellite designed to provide customers like OmniAccess with important operational and commercial advantages. We look forward to building our ties to OmniAccess and delivering to them the superior technical performance and outstanding support they have come to expect from Telesat.”
Telesat VANTAGE satellites represent a new generation of spacecraft optimized to serve the types of bandwidth intensive applications increasingly in demand across the satellite industry. Telstar 12 VANTAGE was launched November 2015 to 15 degrees West. It provides powerful new coverage for mobility services over the North Sea, the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the South Atlantic. Two other Telstar VANTAGE satellites are under construction and scheduled for launch mid-2018: Telstar 18 VANTAGE over Asia and Telstar 19 VANTAGE serving the Americas.
About OmniAccess
Headquartered in the “yachting capital of the Mediterranean,” Palma de Mallorca, OmniAccess is the leading specialized maritime IT services integrator. Established in 2002, the company offers a portfolio of cutting-edge IT and connectivity-services and products to over 250 vessels, among which many of the world’s most impressive yachts.
With an experienced staff of over 60 employees, OmniAccess operates an advanced global VSAT network on over 22 satellite-beams in both C-band and Ku-band, uplinked from 5 Teleport-locations in Spain, Germany, Chile, Australia and the USA. OmniAccess’ services encompass BroadBeam VSAT solutions for Internet connectivity at sea at ultra-high speeds of up to 200 mbps, Plexus advanced integrated maritime IT networks and Plexus-TV IPTV solutions. For more information please visit www.omniaccess.com.
About Telesat (www.telesat.com)
Telesat is a leading global satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions worldwide to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around the world, the company’s state-of-the-art fleet consists of 15 satellites plus the Canadian payload on ViaSat-1 with two new satellites under construction. An additional two prototype satellites are under construction and will be deployed in low earth orbit. Telesat also manages the operations of additional satellites for third parties. Privately held, Telesat’s principal shareholders are Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LORL).
