Furuno has stepped into the MVSAT airtime broadband market in Ku-band with its new "SafeComNet" Service by using the Auto Beam Switching (ABS) Ku-band broadband maritime service, satellite capacity and teleport services of its partners Eutelsat and SpeedCast which provides maritime fleets with seamless communications across all major shipping lanes and regions covered by Ku-band satellites.

FURUNO's SafeComNet service is principally targeting operators of merchant shipping and fishing fleets who want to integrate enhanced on-board applications in order to optimize productivity and improve crew welfare. The satellite-based broadband service will enable secure offshore Virtual Private Networks to be established with land-based offices so that a ship in effect becomes a mobile office fully integrated into an overall network.

Additional services to crew, including Internet access, email, GSM connectivity, Video-on-Demand and IPTV services could be carried through the same satellite broadband connection. With the launch of SafeComNet, FURUNO is entering the MVSAT airtime business to complement its core products and services with a unique proposition. Using SpeedCast and Eutelsat's Ku-band maritime broadband network, FURUNO will be able to offer the maritime industry innovative Auto Beam Switching technology in Ku-band, which offers a seamless service with no manual intervention for crew as vessels pass from one satellite coverage to another. The new service will serve key shipping routes using Ku-band capacity, principally on Eutelsat and AsiaSat satellites.

In addition to a fixed fee per ship, irrespective of usage, the use of small one-meter stabilized satellite antennas marks a major innovation. Compared with 2.4 meter C-band systems, Ku-band antennas will reduce equipment costs by more than 50 percent and space occupied on deck by more than 60 percent.

Commenting on the agreement with FURUNO, Arduino Patacchini, Eutelsat's Director of Multimedia said: "We are very excited to build with FURUNO a highly-targeted broadband access solution for the shipping industry. The development of this service underscores Eutelsat's objective to expand and diversify our range of mobile satellite broadband products into transport markets at sea and in flight."

Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast in Hong Kong added: "We are delighted to sign a partnership agreement with such a recognized company in the maritime industry as FURUNO. Our service required an established maritime partner with sales and maintenance capabilities, and this is definitely what FURUNO brings to the table. With this partnership, FURUNO will now be able to offer its customers a true "one-stop-shop" solution which includes equipment, bandwidth, servicing and applications. This opens the promise of a seamless and cost-effective broadband telecommunications service for the maritime industry."

"In response to the constantly growing demand for reliable and efficient maritime communications solutions offering increased bandwidths at affordable rates, FURUNO decided to team with two of the world-leading satellite service providers, Eutelsat and SpeedCast, to launch SafeComNet. Our partnership allows us to combine hardware offered by FURUNO with satellite airtime services for our "One Stop Shop Solution" of all-inclusive satellite-based broadband communications services. Our co-operation with Eutelsat and SpeedCast will help improve the connectivity at sea required by an increasing number of ship-owners worldwide." said Freddie Hansen, Managing Director of FURUNO Denmark.