Picocell and Satellite Technology Takes GSM to Sea
GSM coverage is being extended to cruise ships, ferries and merchant ships using picocell base stations and satellite technology, according to vendor ip.access.
On Monday the company announced a deal with Blue Ocean Wireless -- an operator that specializes in the deep-sea merchant maritime sector. It will use ip.access' nanoGSM picocell to provide mobile phone coverage on merchant ships.
A picocell on a ship is attached to a gateway that converts the cellular call into a narrowband IP (Internet Protocol) signal for transmission over the satellite network.
"What it means is that your mobile phone works, whereas before it didn't. So you're able to make calls in private, instead of using the ship telephone," said ip.access CEO Stephen Mallinson.
Ip.access is also working with companies that are installing picocells on, for example, cruise ships and ferries, but Mallinson isn't ready to announce any deals at this point, he said.
