While at Sea Iridium Connected maritime broadband service helps global climate change expedition stay in touch.
Around the Americas Expedition
“Along with our daily communications to friends, families, schools and research institutions, we regularly received large data files, PDFs of magazine articles and layouts for articles we've written for many different magazines. Iridium, provided by Stratos, has been the best and most reliable method for keeping in touch, and has made it possible for us to promote – in real time – the educational and scientific mission of the Around the Americas voyage.” Mark Schrader, Captain, S/V Ocean Watch
The Challenge Around the Americas, a historic 28,000-mile clockwise sailing circumnavigation of the North and South American continents, needed reliable, high-quality voice and data links throughout its voyage for daily communications and documentation of the health of the world’s oceans and its impact on global climate change.
The Solution Iridium and its service partner Stratos provided the Iridium OpenPort® system for the 64-foot steel-hull vessel Ocean Watch.
Results The Iridium OpenPort allowed the Around the Americas expedition crew to maintain regular and consistent voice and data communications throughout the voyage, including Polar waters not covered by any other satellite communication system.
"Since we are filing a daily story along with images for uploads to our website, we now have sent more than 1,500 images, with some photo packages approaching the 4 MB size, via Iridium with no significant problems.” Mark Schrader, Captain, S/V Ocean Watch Around the Americas as part of the Iridium Global Ecosystem
Solution Provider: Stratos
Enabling Product: Iridium OpenPort
Enabling Product Vendor: Stratos, an Iridium service partner, offers an extensive portfolio of remote communications solutions, including mobile and fixed satellite and microwave services to partners on seven continents and across the world's oceans.
Iridium Core Component: Iridium OpenPort
Iridium Key Network Capability: The Iridium OpenPort system provides global coverage and features a small, lightweight antenna, three independent phone lines and scalable data to 128 kbps. Leveraging Iridium’s low-earth orbit constellation of 66 cross-linked satellites, Iridium OpenPort is the only maritime satellite service capable of reaching extreme northern and southern latitudes, which is vital for seafaring missions such as the Around the Americas expedition that require a reliable, critical communications lifeline.
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