INTEGRA - Prioritising business critical communications onboard vessel fleets globally

7/7/19

In today’s technologically driven world it is commonplace for vessels to provide Wi-Fi services, provided via satellite, on-board their vessels to enhance crew welfare. However, most are reluctant to allow personnel unrestricted access for fear of both slowing down the vessels operational broadband and increasing the monthly Wi-Fi usage and associated costs.

An offshore accommodation vessel is mainly used to accommodate personnel at sea during set up or maintenance of offshore structures or wind farms (OWFs). These vessels moor or drift in direct proximity to the construction site to decrease transit time to the offshore structures and maximise personnel's working time. These vessels can house over 500 personnel at one time and frequently serve as a control centre or construction office at sea with various communication and conference rooms, along with many cabins.

During times of full occupancy, personnel’s internet usage on-board an offshore accommodation vessel can often congest the network and, in some instances, completely prevent business-critical communications from getting through. A very common problem facing many vessel owners is how to manage the available bandwidth and prioritise business-critical communications while still allowing the crew/workers/occupants access to the internet.

Running the vessel’s VSAT service over AST Networks' intelligent global IP network gives the vessel the full benefits of INTEGRA, AST Networks' unique traffic management solution. INTEGRA services include INTEGRA See and INTEGRA Control*, which provide complete real-time visibility of network traffic and the ability to limit or block usage at the application level.

Using INTEGRA See, network administrators on the vessels or shoreside can view the exact applications crew are using in real-time to identify precisely which applications are interfering with business-critical communications. A real-life example below shows how on-board one vessel the biggest consumers of non-business bandwidth were Facebook Video and YouTube.

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Using INTEGRA Control, the administrator set restrictions that blocked the two data-hungry applications, allowing adequate resources to be always reserved for business-critical communications. These controls instantly resolved the traffic management issues, while allowing the crew to continue using other applications without restriction.

*Subscription charges apply

Solutions used

Crew Welfare

Crew welfare is paramount to shipping companies’ objectives and effective communication is crucial to enabling efficient operations.

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Comms & Bandwidth Management

Our unique cloud-based asset management system has been built for performance optimisation. Working with the maritime industry, we offer solutions that help you manage assets effectively, whilst keeping operational costs low.

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Bandwidth Management Maritime

Our Bandwidth Management solution, INTEGRA, is the smartest way to manage your data, from anywhere in the world.

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Remote Asset Management

AST Networks Remote Asset Management Services

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Hybrid Connectivity Solutions

This AST Networks solution has been specifically designed to support your Starlink deployments with improved security and seamless switch over to secondary communications solutions if required, reducing communication issues with vessels at sea. It has the flexibility to adapt as your requirements change.

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Jamie Ironmonger | Mind Everest Expedition | Thuraya X5 Touch
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