Telecom Lead America: MTN Satellite Communications and
Wireless Maritime Services (WMS) have launched Connect at Sea voice
application.
The new application enables passengers and crew to make
cost-effective phone calls and send text messages from their personal Apple iOS
or Android devices while at sea.
Connect at Sea voice application will also assist
passengers to ensure intra-ship calling to connect with their friends and
family onboard to make plans or keep track of one another. Crew can leverage
this feature as well to call other vessels.
MTN and WMS have jointly developed this unique solution.
Connect at Sea is built for the maritime industry and
delivers high voice quality while keeping bandwidth usage low.
Customers do not have to purchase an Internet plan to use
the application and can download it from iTunes or the Android store.
Brent Horwitz, senior vice president and general manager
of Cruise and Ferry Services at MTN Satellite Communications, said passengers
expect to be able to make calls from anywhere in the world without issue and
crew require a service that allows them to stay connected with family and
friends while at sea.
Jim McKenna, vice president of Customer Support and
Product Development at WMS, said after launching the industry’s first 3G
capabilities in the maritime environment in November 2010, the Connect at Sea
application was the natural progression of its offerings to deliver
capabilities that closely match passengers’ calling experience on land.
