Low-earth orbit satellites can significantly enhance communications on board.
Staying connected while on board is vital not only for guests and crew, but also for vessel operations. Since their launch a few years ago, low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which make Starlink connectivity possible, have matured with faster data speeds and increased coverage due to greater constellation density.
The main difference between LEO and GEO (geostationary earth orbit), which is used in traditional VSAT, is simply distance. Because LEO satellites are very close to earth, data travels fast, offering shore-like speeds, whereas GEO satellites are extremely far away, which causes a delay but ensures a wide area of reliable and stable coverage.
With fast internet, video conferencing, streaming and entertainment improves — enhancing life on board for guests and crew. Also, vessel management becomes more efficient with full-cloud operations, remote IT/OT diagnostics and real-time upload of large telemetry files, says Mark Theissen, VP of Yachting at MTN, a global provider of satellite and wireless solutions to the maritime industry.
Technical Aspects
To install LEO on board, you need an integrated system, consisting of the Flat High-Performance LEO Antenna and, most critically to Theissen, the equipment that manages the data flow or prioritizes bridge communications over guest streaming.
“LEO terminals require specific placements with an unobstructed view of the sky across a wide arc to maintain satellite lock, and it requires higher power consumption and heat generation than traditional VSAT,” he says. “Most critically, LEO is just a high-speed data pipe; it must be expertly integrated into a vessel’s network via a robust WAN Aggregation or SD-WAN appliance to manage traffic flow, prioritize essential vessel operations data over guest streaming, and properly segment the network for security.”
The competition between LEO providers — Starlink with its speed and scale, OneWeb with its reliability and soon Amazon Leo with its cloud integration — benefits yacht connectivity, allowing vessels to have multiple viable and fast connectivity options. MTN offers hybrid networks with more options that guarantee both maximum speed and mission-critical uptime by choosing the best LEO service for the yacht’s location or technical needs.
Financial Value
With plans that offer unlimited data, LEO is a move toward predictable costs as there’s no risk of expensive overage fees common with capped VSAT services.
“While the hardware [CAPEX] is generally less expensive than fully stabilized GEO antennas, the overall value is found in the significant increase in bandwidth and performance,” Theissen says. “For vessels, the long-term saving and benefit are realized through a managed hybrid network, which uses LEO’s high performance for daily needs while retaining traditional VSAT for guaranteed, mission-critical applications and essential redundancy.”
Additional Benefits
Thanks to the massive throughput and ultra-low latency, LEO enables the adoption of shore-based security practices, such as real-time cloud-based threat detected and automated updates that were previously impossible with slower speeds. With such speeds, it becomes imperative to implement robust network segmentation and a Zero Trust architecture, ensuring that high-traffic crew and guest networks are isolated from the operational technology network. Plus, large files can be backed up or synchronized in real time, improving IT efficiency.
LEO can act as a failover for traditional VSAT, or vice versa, maximizing the vessel’s uptime. Having an integrated LEO platform on board allows it to more easily adapt to future connectivity sources.
“LEO connectivity is not just another option; it’s the next era of connectivity at sea,” Theissen says. “It’s not a matter of ‘if’ you’ll switch to LEO, but ‘when.’”