Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile communications, provided SEA-KIT International’s uncrewed surface vessel(USV) Maxlimer with connectivity services to transmit data and video from the site of the recent underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga. As part of an international project to assess the environmental damage caused by the eruption, the 12-metre remotely operated vessel mapped the volcano’s submerged caldera and measured local marine conditions.
In 2021, Inmarsat installed a Global Xpress antenna and Fleet LTE hardware on board Maxlimer, adding to the USV’s existing FleetBroadband antenna and allowing it to access full Fleet Xpress capabilities and seamlessly switch between networks. Following a successful pilot, SEA-KIT has signed up for a high-upload plan and the services of Inmarsat Certified Application Provider(CAP) Videosoft Global to support the vessel’s survey activities in Tonga.
Maxlimer used Videosoft’s streaming service, which has significant bandwidth savings when compared with conventional streaming services, to transmit live video from the site, as well as high-definition, low-latency CCTV enabling SEA-KIT to monitor the vessel’s operations remotely.
In addition to high-upload capacity, SEA-KIT benefitted from a 99.9% uptime service level agreement through Fleet Xpress, with Inmarsat’s Global Xpress Ka-band spot beams also providing significantly higher signal strength and faster transmission rates than regular wide-beam technology. A network of solutions engineers and service managers was ready to support SEA-KIT with any technical queries or issues regarding its connectivity service.