Service at shore speeds for cruise ships

摘要

Cruise line passengers and crew are about to get broadband services on a par with onshore standards. In May, O3b Networks will launch satellites capable of delivering download speeds of 350Mbps to ships at sea. The initial constellation of eight satellites will orbit at an altitude of 8,062 km, which means that data will not need to travel some 36,000km to and from ships as happens now with geosynchronous (GEO) satellites. Latency, the measure of time delay for information to transit from one network to another, will reduce by two-thirds with a delay between 100 and 150 milliseconds, the kind of performance one takes for granted in the modern home.