Satellite communication

Satellite communications systems are designed to meet the needs of communications and satellite Internet access anywhere in the world. Specialized communication systems have several advantages, but the key is the ability to implement high-quality telephony and data transfer outside the coverage areas of cellular communication stations and the lack of Internet infrastructure.

LLC “ZORA” is an agent of FSUE “Morsvyazsputnik”, a licensed operator of the Inmarsat mobile satellite communication system in the territory of the Russian Federation.

FSUE “MORSVYAZSPUTNIK” is the national operator of the INMARSAT mobile satellite communication system on the territory of the Russian Federation, a settlement organization registered in the International Telecommunication Union under the code AAIC=SU04, a customer registration center, an official distributor of the world’s leading manufacturers of satellite equipment.

FSUE “Morsvyazsputnik”, being a recognized leader in the field of mobile satellite communication services in the territory of the Russian Federation for more than 35 years, offers its subscribers a range of services in the field of communication and navigation, including the provision of mobile satellite communication services on all types of transport. The enterprise is a subordinate organization of the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation (Rosmorrechflot), participates in the implementation of state tasks and the implementation of national projects.

The main activity is registration and settlement services of mobile satellite communications.

In accordance with the International Telecommunication Convention and the ITU Radio Regulations, a “settlement organization” (Accounting Authority — abbreviated AA in English transcription) must be defined and assigned for each vessel operating in areas A2, A3 and each satellite station of the Inmarsat system. The settlement organization provides services related to the collection of payments for communication services from customers and the transfer of these funds to the accounts of communication service providers, whose roles are coastal radio stations of the marine mobile service and coastal earth stations of the Inmarsat system.

FSUE “Morsvyazsputnik” offers a wide range of stationary and mobile broadband services that allow you to use office tools:

FSUE “Morsvyazsputnik” together with its partners offers a wide range of voice communication and data transmission services that allow you to meet your communication needs wherever you are:

To organize reliable communication at sea, VSAT technology, already well-established and well-known on shore, is being used today.

Trends in the development of the world fleet contribute to the increasingly widespread use of marine VSAT installations. Firstly, the number of crew members on modern ships has decreased, which has led to an increase in the burden on the command staff. Secondly, the amount of documentation processed on the ship has significantly increased, so now almost every ship has its own “server part”, the Internet on the ship and the ship’s database on board. In addition, if a shipowner equips all vessels of his fleet with marine VSAT installations, it becomes possible to combine all vessels of one company into a corporate network with a common database and the ability to exchange information.

The main function of marine VSAT is the organization of full—fledged high-speed communication on sea and river vessels via satellite channel. The use of broadband satellite communication equipment based on VSAT technology currently meets all the requirements for modern, high-speed, permanent communication with ships and floating structures:

Based on the IP protocol
Provides high speed of information transfer
Provides the ability to integrate communication services
Uses a frequency spectrum with or Ku bands
Provides a quick payback of equipment costs
Allows you to reduce operating costs
Provides continuous, reliable and high-quality communication with vessels
Inmarsat standards approved for use in GMDSS
Inmarsat C
Inmarsat C – Inmarsat standard, commissioned in 1991. Provides low-speed, two-way data exchange based on the principle of accumulation, storage and subsequent transfer of information (Store-and-Forward).

Inmarsat C, Mini C satellite terminals are compact and can be installed on almost any vessels, they allow packet data transmission at a speed of 600 bits/s and provide the following features:

messaging (ship-to-ship),
sending messages to e-mail (ship-to-shore, shore-to-ship),
sending SMS messages to GSM mobile phones,
sending messages to the PSDN email box,
sending fax messages (ship-shore),
sending an extended group call to Inmarsat-C terminals (EGC),
transmitting telex messages,
sending geographical coordinates, course, speed (Data reporting),
sending and receiving distress signals (Distress).
To ensure the safety of navigation, the Inmarsat-C and Mini-C terminals are equipped with a built-in receiver of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which automatically determines the location of the terminal and transmits reports in case of activation of a distress signal. The transmitted reports contain data on the geographical coordinates of the vessel, on the course and speed.

Inmarsat FleetBroadband (FBB)
FleetBroadband is a broadband satellite communication standard that provides data transmission in IP networks at speeds up to 432 Kbit/s, provides subscribers with telephone (up to 9 channels) and fax communication, ISDN, sending/receiving SMS messages, data transmission with guaranteed speeds up to 256 Kbit/s. To ensure the safety of navigation, FleetBroadband provides a free emergency communication service with Marine Rescue Coordination Centers by number 505.

The use of FleetBroadband terminals as GMDSS equipment is currently possible only within the MEAS coverage area of Inmarsat 4th generation satellites.

Inmarsat FleetOne
FleetOne is an alternative or supplement to the Inmarsat FBB service.

FleetOne provides single-channel voice communication, sending/receiving SMS messages, data transmission at speeds up to 100 Kbit/s and free emergency communication by number 505.

The main features of FleetOne are the possibility of use on ships of any type, low cost of traffic, flexible tariff plan with a minimum contract period of 1 month and the ability to deactivate /activate services at any time.

Transfer of information about the safety of navigation to ships
IBM/MSI – navigation safety information transmitted to ships via Inmarsat — SafetyNet/SafetyNETII, RescueNet and Iridium – SafetyCast services.

The IBM information includes:

Meteorological warnings
Navigation warnings
Information about search and rescue operations
Ice conditions
Weather forecasts
Distress signals from shore to sea areas
The following NAVAREA/METAREA areas are included in the area of responsibility of the Russian Federation for the transmission of IBM information – XIII, XX and XXI.

Currently, the following IBM suppliers have been officially announced from the Russian Federation to IMO (IMO Circular COMSAR.1/Circ.58/Rev.1 from 31.10.2018)

NAVAREA/METAREA XIII:

UNiO of the Ministry of Defense of Russia – navigation information;
FSBI “AANI” (Roshydromet) – meteorological information.
NAVAREA/METAREA XX, XXI:

FSUE “Rosmorport” – navigation information;
FSBI “AANI” (Roshydromet) – meteorological information.
The transfer of IBM to NAVAREA/METAREA areas is carried out by IBM suppliers in accordance with the schedule based on the relevant IMO resolutions.

SafetyNet/SafetyNETII Services
SafetyNET

SafetyNet has been operating since 1999 and provides Shipping Safety Information (IBM) to the NAVAREA and METAREA areas. IBM delivery is carried out using the EGC multicast service via satellite channels of the Inmarsat system.

SafetyNet provides that the IBM is transmitted by the coordinating station of the network (KSS) through any Inmarsat-C coastal Earth station (BZS) serving the required NAVAREA/METAREA regions, while, as a rule, two Inmarsat-C BZS are used to transmit the IBM — the main and backup. To deliver the IBM to the regions in the area of responsibility of the Russian Federation (XIII, XX and XXI), the Russian BZS “Nudol” is used as the main one, the operation of which is provided by FSUE “Morsvyazsputnik”.

SafetyNET II

To deliver the IBM to the NAVAREA / METARIA XIII, XX and XXI districts, the Russian BZS Nudol and Nakhodka are used as the main ones.

developed on the basis of modern telecommunication technologies, taking into account the possibility of using Inmarsat FleetBroadband ship terminals as GMDSS equipment.
The IBM is sent using a WEB interface, the information is processed on a special Inmarsat server – Maritime Safety Server, after which the SBM is transmitted to the KSS via 4th generation satellites.

An important advantage of SafetyNet II is the ability to simultaneously send IBM to both Inmarsat-C (Mini-C) ship terminals and FleetBroadband terminals.

Iridium satellite system to provide GMDSS
The Iridium mobile satellite communication system was approved as a component of the GMDSS in May 2018.

In December 2019, Iridium Communications Inc. announced the first seven companies in the world to be granted the right to provide GMDSS services.

The companies: Arion Communications, AST, Marlink, FSUE “Morsvyazsputnik” (Marsat), NSSLGlobal, Satcom Global and Speedcast, became the first in the world to provide global satellite GMDSS service Iridium to sea vessels.

Currently, FSUE “Morsvyazsputnik” together with Iridium are testing the SafetyCast service to verify the transfer of IBM to NAVAREA/METAREA areas in the area of responsibility of the Russian Federation. Based on the results of testing, a decision will be made on the possibility of using the SafetyCast service by Russian IBM suppliers.