Ponant renews communications contract with Marlink

French luxury cruise line Ponant is to offer guests faster internet speeds on all its cruise vessels after extending its Sealink multi-band communication services contract with Marlink.

Marlink will deliver reliable satellite services to all five of Marlink’s vessels – Le Ponant, L’Austral, Le Boréal, Le Soléal and Le Lyrial – via its global network of overlapping beams on all frequencies. Each ship will have access to global Ku and C-band VSAT, as well as L-band solutions and GSM/LTE services, to ensure IP and voice communication are always available. Marlink’s SMARTConnect service will handle switching between alternate carriers to ensure seamless connectivity and uptime.

Ponant’s four new explorer yachts – Le Champlain, Le Laperouse, Le Bougainille and Le Dumont-d’Urville – will also be equipped with the connectivity services prior to their 2018 and 2019 launches.

“Our frequency agnostic, multi-band approach enables the world’s most complete global satellite network, with services over all maritime satellite frequency bands,” said Tore Morten Olsen, president of maritime at Marlink. “This is especially appreciated by operators like Ponant in the luxury cruise sector, who naturally have very high demands for global bandwidth, fast connectivity and reliability in order to meet the needs of their guests.”

Guests and crew will benefit from internet access, and mobile and data communications connectivity.

“We are committed to delivering unique cruising experiences, visiting exotic destinations while still ensuring high-end facilities onboard,” said Jean Emmanuelle Sauvee, Ponant CEO. “As a long-term partner, Marlink has been able to ensure coverage on its global network for all our vessels wherever they are, providing connectivity for guests and our business, operational and crew welfare needs. The contract extension introduces even higher speeds and quality of service, helping us to improve our onboard facilities across the fleet.”