40 wi-fi access across multiple devices and power its technology-enabled cabins, entertainment offerings, and more,” says Martin. “It will also experience enhanced operational efficiency. SES installed all the equipment, manages everything and provides 24/7 monitoring and troubleshooting services, so Virgin Voyages is free to focus on delivering the best possible experience for customers and crew.” Entering a new era With satellite communications research agency NSR forecasting that the average bandwidth consumption per vessel will increase from 32 megabits per second (Mbps) in 2021 to 224 Mbps by 2030, Martin predicts that many cruise operators will soon need to upgrade their connectivity solutions. “Tech-savvy passengers are increasingly embracing cruising, bringing with them a proliferation of connected devices and demand for land-like connectivity at sea,” he says. “At the same time, ship operators are introducing new entertainment offerings and passenger-facing applications and experiences that require reliable, always-on connectivity. Consequently, they must adopt connectivity solutions that deliver much higher capacity than ever before to guarantee optimal performance and meet passenger and crew expectations.” In addition, cruise brands are digitising operations and investing in smart ship technologies. “Connectivity now underpins systems for crew management, training, e-health, administrative work, water and waste management, inventory monitoring, safety, logistics, and more,” says Martin. “All these technologies continuously collect data, so cruise brands require a robust, end-to-end connection to the cloud.” Partnering with a managed service provider like SES will enable cruise operators to easily prepare themselves for the new era of connectivity, says Martin. “SES has been delivering robust and reliable connectivity solutions with unmatched speeds, network coverage and capacity to ships sailing all over the world for more than a decade. We’re still the only multi-orbit satellite operator in the cruise industry and we continue to push technological boundaries to further enhance and expand our offerings. For example, we’re working with Starlink and we’ve joined forces with two of the world’s biggest cloud solution providers, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, so we can deliver private dedicated connectivity to the cloud, optimising performance for any cloud workload, in any location. Partnering with SES ensures that cruise brands can enable superior experiences on every ship for every passenger and crew member, anytime, anywhere.” COVER STORY “ SES ensures that cruise brands can enable superior experiences on every ship for every passenger and crew member” Photo: iStock/baona
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