…has achieved significant growth milestones for Horizon in the first half of 2012. These milestones include processing over 67,000 pre-paid voice minutes and transferring 4GB of data (saving 14GB through optimization) in June, saving maritime users more than 75 percent over Inmarsat terminals. Horizon has also achieved month over month voice growth of 68 to 92 percent in Q2 2012.
“Horizon’s substantial growth validates it has gained visibility with crew in the maritime industry and that they recognize the value that Horizon offers. Through the affordability that Horizon’s optimisation provides crew members have also been able to increase their time spent online by 59%,” said Sandy Johnson, COO, SatCom Global.
The ability for crew in the maritime industry to stay in touch with family and friends with cost effective communications is crucial for high morale, as they are isolated for long periods of time. Horizon has enabled crew to save significantly on voice and data services through the efficient use of bandwidth over mobile and fixed satellite networks. Horizon’s optimisation technology significantly reduces crew communications costs by consuming as much as 80 percent less data than other VoIP services and saving upwards of 20,000 bytes per website viewed. By using Horizon, crew members are able to track their call and surf expenditures. They can also make calls without the need to wait in a queue as Horizon allows up to eight simultaneous calls over an IP link.
Ship owners now have the ability to offer affordable voice and data services to their crew without the fear of expenses spiraling out of control, as they look to recruit and retain staff. Based on the company’s SmartPacket™ technology, VoIP is enabled from only 2kbps compared to around 8kpbs from other VoIP services. In addition to VoIP, Horizon extends to a range of optimized data applications including compressed email, accelerated web browsing and instant messaging.
