Satellite optimization company Comtech EF Data (News - Alert) Corp., and Thrane & Thrane have announced the successful completion of interoperability testing of the SAILOR 900 VSAT marine stabilized antenna systems and the ROSS Open Antenna Management (ROAM) protocol.

Thanks to the interoperability, the SAILOR 900 VSAT antenna systems on maritime vessels can now globally roam across multiple satellite beams, maintaining connectivity moving through different satellite footprints and enhancing communication capabilities at sea.

“The interoperability of the ROAM protocol and ROSS automation with the SAILOR 900 VSAT will provide maximum bandwidth efficiencies and roaming capabilities for maritime operators' satellite-based communications,” said Daniel Enns, senior vice president for strategic marketing and business development at Comtech EF Data.

Since the ROAM protocol provides a generic set of commands, information, interfaces and status queries, it offers a common management interface for Comtech EF Data’s Roaming Oceanic (News - Alert) Satellite Server (ROSS) and third-party Antenna Control Units (ACUs).

An integrated location server, ROSS works along with Comtech EF Data’s Vipersat Management System, facilitating on-the-move satellite communications for oceanic vessels, said company officials.

With ROSS, remote modems can interface with auto-tracking antennae, maintaining connectivity as vessels move through footprints of different satellites. Company officials said that vessel position data, satellite signal and management status are constantly monitored to determine when satellite handoff is necessary.

ROSS can support many types of ACUs. Company officials said that this enables ROAM protocol to provide basic parameters required to globally roam across multiple satellite beams, reducing the complexity and the variations.

The SAILOR 900 VSAT is an advanced maritime stabilized Ku-band antenna system. Calling the SAILOR 900 VSAT a “paradigm shift” for maritime VSAT antenna systems, Casper Jensen, vice president of Maritime Business Unit at Thrane & Thrane (News - Alert), said that “When combined with Comtech’s technologies, our maritime customers can significantly enhance their communications at sea.”

Prior to starting the actual design process, Thrane & Thrane collected extensive ship motion data over a sustained period. This data was used in the custom Vessel Dynamics Simulator. Company officials said that this enabled the simulation of ship forces and significantly increased life time testing.

Comtech EF Data is a subsidiary of Comtech Telecommunications (News - Alert) Corporation. The company offers satellite bandwidth efficiency and link optimization.

In related satellite optimization news, in a move to extend the reach of its revolutionary WAN optimization as a service solution to both new and existing environments, Expand Networks (News - Alert) has launched its all-new Mobile Accelerator Client Suite for general availability.