Satellite Internet Access At Sea

I have posted many times on the different approaches and offerings for having satellite internet access anywhere at sea. Recently Boeing made a lot of headlines because of their plans to offer internet access via the same system as they are using to offer internet access in air planes. Many expected this to be a serious competitive threat to Inmarsat, a sort of incumbent in this area. Wi-Fi Networking News is comparing the different systems for offering in-flight internet access, but the analysis will probably teach us something about the future of satellite internet at sea as well.
“The 864 Kbps service from satellite giant Inmarsat delivered from its three fourth-generation I4 satellites scheduled for launch starting in late 2004 could dramatically change the future of aviation Internet access. This service is called B-GAN for Broadband Global Area Network. The service is in symmetrical 432 Kbps units with Tenzing recommending two bonded channels for 864 Kbps of bandwidth, although four channels and 1.7 Mbps are possible as well.”