[SatNews]   It's that time of year again, the super yachts are shaking off the winter and sailing with the latest VSAT service...

Airbus Defence and Space and service provider partner e3 Systems report that flexibility in bandwidth provision on the Pharostar VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) service can cost-effectively ensure that media services such as IP radio/TV and video applications like Facetime and teleconferencing are always available when a yacht owner or their guests are on board. Taking M/Y SAMAR, a 77m Laurent Giles designed luxury motor yacht as an example, this flexibility to increase bandwidth for when the owner is on board has been a decisive aspect in choosing the Pharostar VSAT service provided by e3 Systems.

M/Y SAMAR, a 77m Laurent Giles designed luxury motor yacht

"One of the main applications required when the owner is on board Samar is IP media streaming. It’s not needed when the owner is absent though, so we offer the functionality to just switch to a higher bandwidth service whenever they like," comments Erik Nieuwmeijer, Sales Director e3 Systems. "Streaming media services require a stable and reliable connection and it’s our goal to provide high quality connectivity at a reasonable cost. We’re pleased to report that the satisfaction level for media streaming is very high, which is thanks to the quality of Airbus Defence and Space’s network backbone."

In addition to bandwidth flexibility, the seasonal nature of many superyacht itineraries demands a customized approach to providing regional VSAT coverage. Rather than global service, savings can be made by choosing coverage only in the areas Samar is sailing, with automatic switching when crossing over to the next region, resulting in seamless connectivity. With almost global coverage, Airbus Defence and Space provides E3 Systems with a Pharostar solution for Samar that can be amended to the superyacht’s requirements at any time: It covers North America and the Caribbean in winter months and Europe during the summer.

“We don’t need the levels of bandwidth required for a good media streaming experience all the time so it’s important that we have the flexibility to increase and decrease bandwidth with ease,” explains Robert Corcoran, Captain, Samar. “Likewise, only paying for services for the duration we spend in a region helps to keep costs reasonable, whilst still having sufficient bandwidth available for guest and crew connectivity at all times. In order to operate efficiently in terms of budget and capabilities, the flexibility we have for our connectivity is vital.”

Approaching the superyacht market jointly with partners such as e3, will further strengthen Airbus Defence and Space’s new AuroraGlobal platform. Known as AuroraMaritime in the maritime market, customers will benefit from next generation Ku-band VSAT services without the need to replace existing antennas. The AuroraMaritime VSAT offering is an all-in-one solution featuring twice the previous data volume allowances and twice the previous data speeds. It comes with unlimited L-band back-up service, as well as the new XChange platform. Shipping companies can now select this offer and maintain the option to upgrade to future Ku- and Ka-band high throughput services such as Global Xpress and EpicNG when available.