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Telaurus Communications

The recent introduction of new broadband satellite networks from both Inmarsat and Iridium, as well as more established offerings from various VSAT providers, are giving Ship Operators the ability to integrate their Ships more closely into their Office environments. These new higher bandwidth offerings allow Video Conferencing, Voice over IP, On-Line management systems, remote monitoring and access, enhanced weather and navigation services,, Intranet Access, and even web-browsing for both Ship’s business and Crew Welfare purposes.

For many Operators, these capabilities are well overdue, for others they are something not fully understood and potentially worrisome. There are Operators who consider that lower cost data and greater bandwidth means they can look to what On-board systems and applications they can install with a view to enhancing productivity and operational efficiency, there are others that simply take the view that they can do the same but at reduced cost.

Regardless of which path is followed, one thing is absolutely necessary, and that is control of the “pipe”. In the same way that an older style Satellite Terminal could incur high usage charges if it was not managed correctly, so too will a broadband unit if it is not effectively controlled. In fact the potential for massive bills is greater than ever before. As experience with the broadband services has grown, many operators can now see that when using volume priced services such as OpenPort and Fleet Broadband there are many factors other than “price per Mbyte” that need to be taken into account. Foremost amongst these are efficient and controlled utilisation of the broadband “pipe” and an understanding of how minimum data volumes and billing increments are applied to these services.

As the first maritime satellite service provider to adopt volume pricing for all their data services, Telaurus has a unique experience of providing such a service and an in depth understanding of how to use the OpenPort and Fleet Broadband services efficiently.

The following outlines how se@COMM provides the necessary controls and management tools that allow Telaurus’ customers to maximise the benefit of using the new broadband technologies secure in the knowledge that their usage costs are under control.

• Integrated Firewall – se@COMM incorporates a proprietary firewall system to protect the vessel from unwanted connections associated with Broadband technology. This added layer of security allows connection control and filtering before charges are incurred.
• Automatic link control – se@COMM software manages the satellite link so that the ship’s Captain and crew can efficiently communicate without having to “establish a connection”. Effective management of the satellite link keeps costs to a minimum.
• se@REMOTE – Offering one click remote access and network monitoring of onboard systems. Saving time and money by allowing shore-based IT Staff to correct time sensitive issues from their office.
• Protection from unwanted e-mails & web-browsing – Using simple yet powerful filters each se@COMM account holder can decide who they will accept e-mails from and how large those messages may be. The customer also defines which web sites and Internet applications can be accessed.
• Real Time Message delivery – se@COMM - all incoming messages to the ship are delivered automatically in real time.
• Transparent Billing and Cost Control – se@COMM has many different styles of account available: vessel, crew, third party, pre and post paid. Catering to all requirements of Ship Owners and Managers, including third party billing. Providing a simple, complete and easy to understand record of all traffic in the billing period.
• Multi-Level Shore Based management and Control - Using Telaurus’ web-based management tools the Fleet Manager can monitor, manage and control his ship to shore communications in real time and at multiple levels. The Fleet Manager has complete authority over shipboard access to email accounts and the internet.
• Advanced compression – Telaurus utilizes a proprietary dynamic compression system that supports multiple compression routines. Each message is examined and the most suitable compression scheme is automatically applied to achieve optimum compression and therefore reduced costs.
• Responsible Web Browsing – Maximum spending limit, advanced filtering, and integrated counters ensure productive use of the internet on board the vessel.
• Automated File Transfer – se@COMM offers the ability for data to be imported or exported from third party programs in operation within shipping companies. This fully automated process offers an easy and timely delivery mechanism of such information.
• 24 hour customer support – All se@COMM users have access to an experienced Customer Support department operating 24/7 from multiple locations.
• se@SHIELD is a fully functional Antivirus solution for ships at sea. Cost effective and user friendly it was developed to meet the needs of our customers for protection against Trojans, Viruses, Worms and Spyware onboard vessel PC’s. This protection spans networked and stand alone PC’s giving peace of mind that your assets are protected.

Telaurus uses sophisticated techniques to ensure that se@SHIELD does not generate additional and unnecessary data transfers. The Telaurus shore side servers “know” the status of every se@SHIELD installation and send only the data required when new updates become available. This eliminates the two-way “interrogation” that occurs between client and server that is normal with traditional Antivirus products. The updates themselves are generally very small in size and are sent to the ship in compressed form.

Finally, and importantly, Telaurus has eliminated the requirement for regular AV “engine” updates. This is imperative to the successful implementation of a maritime antivirus solution. Typically AV products designed for the terrestrial network will not detect viruses discovered after the release of a scanning engine update. Users of such systems find themselves in a position where they are paying for regular virus definition updates that cannot be used due to an out of date scanning engine. Such a situation is avoided with se@SHIELD.

For further information including contact details go to www.telaurus.com or email sales@telaurus.com

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