New Wi Fi

[Gettingwarmer]

 

January 18, 2023 10:30 AM EST Carnival Corporation Expands Next-Generation Wi-Fi Connectivity with SpaceX's Starlink

New agreement with satellite technology leader Starlink set to transform guest and crew connectivity experience with faster and greater capacity to ships, beginning with the company's Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises brands   As part of its ongoing strategy, world's largest cruise company has nearly tripled fleetwide bandwidth and continues to enhanceconnectivity as part of its focus to provide guests and crew across its world-class cruisebrands with the best available Wi-Fi experience at sea   MIAMI, Jan. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CarnivalCorporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, today announced an agreement for the next-generation of internet connectivity across its global fleet, the latest in a series of moves that have nearly tripled ship bandwidth since 2019. The company has signed a new agreement with SpaceX's Starlink, the leader in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technology, to provide faster service, greater capacity and more reliable Wi-Fi on a global scale.   Fleet roll-out of Starlink began in December 2022 with Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises ships, with plans to expand Starlink to several of the company's other world-class cruise brands, which include Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.   Rivaling on-land connectivity experiences, Starlink greatly advances Carnival Corporation's focus on providing the best available Wi-Fi experience for its guests to stay connected while on vacation, including sharing photos and videos, streaming movies and live sporting events, and enjoying other content onboard with a reliable connection at even faster speeds.   "For many of our guests, it has become more and more important to maintain the type of connectivity at sea that they've become accustomed to at home, and of course to share the unforgettable experiences of their cruise with friends and family," said Josh Weinstein, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "We are in the business of delivering happiness, and Starlink makes it as easy as possible for our guests to share all their great moments and memories, giving them even more joy out of their cruise vacation."   According to Weinstein, "The added bandwidth will give the brands the capabilities and flexibility to introduce new guest services and features, as well as help boost operational functions like onboard equipment monitoring and real-time communications between ship and shore teams. And importantly, adding Starlink's innovative technology to the company's existing connectivity platform will also help our amazing crew stay in touch with friends and loved ones." "High-speed, low-latency broadband internet is critical in our modern age, and we're excited to provide Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA's guests an internet experience that makes their travel even more enjoyable," said Jonathan Hofeller, vice president of Starlink sales for SpaceX. "In even the most remote waters, guests onboard Carnival Corporation ships will be able to share real-time updates with friends and family."   Starlink agreement advances Carnival Corporation's connectivity leadership strategy Starlink joins a growing portfolio of world-classcommunications service, satellite and other technology providers that make up Carnival Corporation's industry-leading, fleetwide connectivity ecosystem. As a global cruise company with nearly 100 ships visiting over 700 ports worldwide, Carnival Corporation's innovative, multi-provider connectivity framework is designed to strategically route internet traffic to optimize network speeds across its fleet anywhere in the world.

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[Mad4WDW]

Great news for anyone who needs to get internet access. This looks like it will be a monumental upgrade 

[Mondeo man]

I wonder how much they will charge the passenger for the service?

[Bazrat]

Hopefully they will not upgrade the lines in the order they said in the post, because on another site there is a lot of infrastructure to be placed on the ships.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Bazrat

[DS_Dean]

Hooray! Now this is a wise move on Carnivals part.

 

Next up. Just re work all the rest of the IT Infrastructure 😄

[molecrochip]

Had heard that this was in the pipeline - great its been announced. 

 

The brands chosen are strategic. Starlink has a good network over mainland Europe, North America and the Caribbean. Therefore Carnival and Aida can benefit from these really quickly.

 

There are plans in the coming year to improve connectivity over the North Atlantic and along the Iberian peninsula and northern Europe. This should then provide better coverage for P&O and Cunard's routes.

 

Its not too much infrastructure. A few new antennas which then link into the existing server room on board.

[Snow Hill]

7 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Had heard that this was in the pipeline - great its been announced. 

 

The brands chosen are strategic. Starlink has a good network over mainland Europe, North America and the Caribbean. Therefore Carnival and Aida can benefit from these really quickly.

 

There are plans in the coming year to improve connectivity over the North Atlantic and along the Iberian peninsula and northern Europe. This should then provide better coverage for P&O and Cunard's routes.

 

Its not too much infrastructure. A few new antennas which then link into the existing server room on board.

But will it be cheaper or will the current extortionate charges remain? 

[Britboys]

12 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Had heard that this was in the pipeline - great its been announced. 

 

The brands chosen are strategic. Starlink has a good network over mainland Europe, North America and the Caribbean. Therefore Carnival and Aida can benefit from these really quickly.

 

There are plans in the coming year to improve connectivity over the North Atlantic and along the Iberian peninsula and northern Europe. This should then provide better coverage for P&O and Cunard's routes.

 

Its not too much infrastructure. A few new antennas which then link into the existing server room on board.

Being the cynic I am - the article says it will be extended to "several" of the Carnival Corp brands. Do you know if P&O are definitely going to get the upgrade at some point?

[CCFC]

It does say P&O UK in the article

[Britboys]

33 minutes ago, CCFC said:

It does say P&O UK in the article

The way I read the article is that it actually mentions all the Carnival Corp brands but says the new system will be rolled out to "several" of them...

[Eglesbrech]

16 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Had heard that this was in the pipeline - great its been announced. 

 

The brands chosen are strategic. Starlink has a good network over mainland Europe, North America and the Caribbean. Therefore Carnival and Aida can benefit from these really quickly.

 

There are plans in the coming year to improve connectivity over the North Atlantic and along the Iberian peninsula and northern Europe. This should then provide better coverage for P&O and Cunard's routes.

 

Its not too much infrastructure. A few new antennas which then link into the existing server room on board.

Are they thinking at all about introducing medallion like Princess. It would make sense, particularly on the bigger ships so people could find each other.