FUTURE TRAJECTORY

摘要

The cost of communications is coming down. Satcoms technology has advanced and matured considerably over the last ten or so years. A decade ago, operators faced hefty charges for slow, low volume data transfers. While the communications spend for a typical vessel has remained broadly unchanged, today, vendors routinely talk in terms of megabits per second and monthly service packages are typically measured in gigabytes. At the same time equipment reliability has improved and in many cases coverage footprints have expanded. Next year Inmarsat is due to launch Global Xpress, its much vaunted 'high-throughput service for the maritime masses'. While it would be an exaggeration to suggest that all ships in the global merchant fleet enjoy high-speed broadband, barriers are falling and uptake is certainly increasing.