5000th Sailor Fleetbroadband Terminal
Thrane & Thrane is proud to announce the September 2009 shipping of the 5000th Sailor FleetBroadband terminal since deliveries started in December 2007. The 5000th terminal, a Sailor 500 FleetBroadband, is a major milestone for Thrane & Thrane and was delivered to a UK based Master Distributor, well-known satcoms solutions provider NSSL Ltd.
“Reaching this milestone in such a short space of time reflects how quickly FleetBroadband has been accepted and also how end-users appreciate the quality and reliability of Sailor products,” comments Walther Thygesen, CEO, Thrane & Thrane (on the right Scott McBride, Commercial Director, NSSL Ltd.). “The market for FleetBroadband continues to grow and based on the performance of Sailor terminals so far, we hope to hit the next milestone of 10,000 terminals much earlier than expected.”
Since going, live, Thrane & Thrane claims FleetBroadband has become the de-facto industry standard global data solution for all ship and boat types, including merchant vessels, fishing vessels, workboats and Yachts. It offers full global coverage following the third Inmarsat I4 satellite coming online in February 2009 to service the Asia/Pacific region.
Sailor 500 FleetBroadband was possibly the first terminal to transmit live from this area, as it was aboard all eight Volvo Ocean Race boats as they left Qingdao, China, for a 12,300 nm leg across the Pacific to Rio de Janeiro. “Although Sailor FleetBroadband is primarily designed for the demands of merchant and offshore vessels, the Volvo Ocean Race is a particular tough proving ground, so we couldn’t resist the challenge,” continues Thygesen. “By performing onboard every VO70 in the 2008/2009 fleet, SAILOR proved its credentials for withstanding perhaps the most extreme environment possible at sea, which reflected its ability to provide fast and reliable satcoms aboard the world’s merchant and offshore fleet.”