Five Things You Need to Know about FlexMaritime Duo

Read time: 3 mins.

In the recent Mobility Brief interview, Todd Cotts, Intelsat’s Senior Product Marketing Manager, and Mike McNally, Director of Maritime Products, Mobility, discussed the advantages of the FlexMaritime Duo service. This dynamic solution integrates Intelsat’s existing FlexMaritime GEO network with Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO coverage, offering maritime operators a robust, multi-orbit managed service.

The FlexMaritime Duo service is designed to address the growing demand for seamless connectivity at sea. Intelsat is committed to delivering advanced, tailored solutions that meet the evolving needs of the maritime industry, empowering operators with the tools they need to stay connected and competitive in a digital-first world.

Todd: I’m excited about our new services for the commercial maritime industry today, particularly merchant shipping and commercial fishing. I understand we have a new multi-orbit solution that leverages Intelsat’s partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb. Let’s talk about it.

What does Intelsat offer that adds to a OneWeb LEO service offering?

Mike: Well, Todd, quite a lot. Intelsat offers a wide variety of service plans to our solution partners, enabling them to offer end users a plan that best fits their needs. Among these plans is one that combines FlexMaritime’s GEO service and the FlexMaritime Duo LEO service into a single monthly gigabyte pool.

Todd: Wow. A multi-orbit offering. What extra equipment is required to add a OneWeb service to FlexMaritime?

Mike: The minimum terminal required to add OneWeb service is the Intellian OW10. This also requires a mounting adapter and cabling to fit each ship’s installation requirements. But that’s it. As part of the terminal kit, a below-deck unit provides LAN and Wi-Fi access.

Todd: Wow, that’s exciting.

Can a service provider provide the mix of the FlexMaritime GEO service and the OneWeb service?

Mike: Yes. Both networks work independently. Our solution partners can customize a configuration and plan to meet every ship manager’s needs.

Todd: If I’m in an area, let’s say, where OneWeb service is not yet available, can I still use the FlexMaritime Duo service plan?

Mike: You sure can. All plans include both service networks, FlexMaritime GEO Service and FlexMaritime LEO Service, so ships are never out of coverage.

Todd: I’m sure our customers and their customers are excited about this solution. If I don’t want to add an extra antenna, do you offer an alternative that can give me a faster connection?

Mike: We also offer a FlexMaritime Vantage solution that adds up to a sixty megabit per second forward and a six megabit per second return MIR capability. And it adds that to the existing FlexMaritime service that is already on board. It utilizes the same VSAT GEO antenna and provides FlexMaritime GEO service. So, all that is required is a switch to select which network you want to use.

Todd:  Thank you, Mike, for today’s mobility brief on Intelsat’s FlexMaritime Duo, and thank you all for watching.