Meet the Team – Lukasz Latosinski – Head of Marine Networks, AST Networks

Lukasz Latonsinski Head of Marine Networks

What excites you most about the AST Networks and Eutelsat OneWeb partnership?

AST Networks and One Web partnership is paving the way to allow people to communicate easier with a higher data speeds and lower latency. Traditional GEO Satellites will still be used and will have its place in the market especially when high SLA agreements are required, where LEO constellations will offer different user experience and at the end they can both complement each other.

With maritime market we are seeing bigger demand for higher data speeds so seafarers can do more and video call families more often – no matter where they are, where ship operations want to implement more sensors to monitor and remotely access engines and machinery. AST Networks being in the centre of maritime market for more than 30 years has allowed us to be ready for this digital transformation with values of our Integra network, Captive portal, IOT, tracking and many more features.

On the other hand, land communication will allow better integration and scalable product offering via AST Networks where hard to reach areas will be able to join digital transformation and enjoy high speeds internet access no matter if this is an enterprise, government, or other vertical.

How do you think it has helped AST Networks and its customers, being involved with Eutelsat OneWeb from such an early stage?

We feel it works two ways, benefiting both OneWeb and our customers. For OneWeb our experience working with so many offshore and land based clients over the past 30 years has meant we have really helped them fine tune a service that we feel really support customers in the way it needs to. We are really proud in our work in supporting OneWeb gain approval for the fixed offshore antenna.

For prospective customers the in-depth relationship with OneWeb, being hands on testing, installing and supporting the terminals means not only we can help you find a solution that meets your needs, but we can also provide ongoing expert support having being part of the development process.

With Eutelsat OneWeb providing unrivalled high-speed, low latency connectivity – what do users potentially have to consider when connecting their service?

We all want more data – but with higher data speeds there are also some points that needs to be considered. As people use the internet more freely and will install and use more interactive applications, users have to take further consideration to cybersecurity risks. Quite often this can raise a risk for the whole network on board a vessel and disrupting vital on-board operations.

We also believe more and more people will be using streaming media and higher bandwidth consumption applications and this can create a bottle neck. AST Networks' Integra network has got a large range of tools helping ship owners, enterprise and energy markets verticals to monitor and stop if this is the case so only allowed traffic is being send over the satellites.

With higher data speeds and lower latency – we still need to manage the traffic to ensure it is delivered based on the business/customer requirement.

Also important to mention is that IoT and telemetry solutions will also see a benefit of using OneWeb network as it can provide pro-active support and maintenance with much higher options of bandwidth – so live telemetry, tracking, sensor reading and multiple live video feeds could be used to make near real-time decisions to maritime, environmental and industrial businesses.

Can you tell us one thing about Eutelsat OneWeb that you think not many people are aware of yet or don’t fully appreciate?

An interesting point to mention is – we have a OneWeb terminal installed in our office and we are running it via the AST Networks' Integra network. During my tests I was able to watch HD streaming video on 6 test stations simultaneous and it worked as expected.