Founded in 1981, MTN Satellite Communications (MTN), formerly known as Maritime Telecommunications Network, was a privately held

VSAT A very-small-aperture terminal (VSAT) is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3.8 meters. The majority of VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m. Bit rates, in most cases, range from 4 kbit/s up to 1 ...

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...

service provider headquartered in Miramar, Florida, USA. MTN provided connectivity services to major cruise lines, including Carnival Corporation,

Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flo ...

, Norwegian Cruise Lines and well as

luxury yacht A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...

s, oil rigs, government and military vessels, and

commercial vessel A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are us ...

s. MTN was acquired by Emerging Markets Communications in 2015.

USS ''Scranton'' and ''Good Morning America''

On November 23, 2005 ABC's '' Good Morning America'' ran a segment called "Run Silent, Run Deep" which was broadcast live from the

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

USS ''Scranton'' (SSN-756) while it was moving. The submarine and the US Navy support vessel USNS ''Dolores Chouest'' were each equipped with a 1900 MHz high-gain microwave antenna and equipment. The people on board the submarine had cellular service via a

CDMA Code-division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. CDMA is an example of multiple access, where several transmitters can send information simultaneously over a single communicatio ...

picocell A picocell is a small cellular base station typically covering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls, train stations, stock exchanges, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. In cellular networks, picocells are typically used to e ...

on board the support vessel. The cell was provided by Wireless Maritime Services, a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and economic risk, risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four rea ...

between MTN and

Cingular Wireless AT&T Mobility LLC, also known as AT&T Wireless and marketed as simply AT&T, is an American telecommunications company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T Inc. and provides wireless services in the United States. AT&T Mobility is the t ...

. The submarine transmitted the live video

broadcast quality Broadcast quality is a term stemming from quad videotape to denote the quality achieved by professional video cameras and time base correctors (TBC) used for broadcast television, usually in standard definition. As the standards for commercial tele ...

to the ''Dolores Chouest'' using bidirectional microwave radios. The cellular technology was used to support all of the live two-way communications between the studio in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and the submarine below the surface. All of the video and

cellular Cellular may refer to: *Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics * Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more * ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie *Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands *Cell ...

traffic was up-linked via MTN's communications technology on board the ''Dolores Chouest''.

MTN Government Services

In 2009, MTN formed MTN Government Services (MTNGS), a subsidiary company headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia that specializes in integrated communications services for military and government agencies. The MTN government team work with soldiers in Afghanistan, non-government organizations (NGOs) for disaster relief and recovery efforts in areas such as Haiti, scientific research ships mapping the ocean floor for NOAA, and a host of other government agencies for mission-critical communication needs.

Emmy Award

In January 2012, MTN was awarded the 2011 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in the category "Development of Integrated, Deployable Systems for Live Reporting from Remote Environments" for collaborating with NBC on the Bloom-Mobile to Broadcast First Live "On the Move" Coverage of Military Forces in Iraq. The concept of the Bloom-Mobile was inspired by Mr.

David Bloom David Jerome Bloom (May 22, 1963 – April 6, 2003) was an American television journalist (co-anchor of ''Weekend Today'' and reporter) until his sudden death in 2003 after a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) became a pulmonary embolism. Early an ...

himself in order to deliver live coverage of U.S. military forces in Iraq in 2003. MTN's founder and CTO Richard Hadsall, collaborated with Mr. Bloom and NBC over a 45-day period to design, build, commission and equip the vehicle with live television and satellite transmission equipment, allowing the Bloom-Mobile to send live, full-motion broadcast-quality video and audio as U.S. troops moved towards Baghdad. By securing a 200-watt stabilized 1.2-meter Ku-band antenna to the back of a custom-built Ford F450 4WD diesel truck, MTN enabled NBC to provide the first live "On the Move" broadcast coverage while traveling at speeds up to 70 mph. Since the Bloom-Mobile's launch, its presence in the broadcast industry continues to expand. The vehicle is used to cover a variety of stories including hurricanes and elections, and is leveraged by the U.S. government for both tactical and non-tactical applications.

Holmdel teleport

The company solely owns and operates a teleport facility in

Holmdel, New Jersey Holmdel Township (usually shortened to Holmdel) is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region, being within the regional and cultural influence of the Raritan Baysh ...

, USA. The facility is 10,000 sq. feet and supports transmission needs of government agencies, ISPs, television broadcasters, cable programmers, carriers, business television and radio. The Holmdel teleport has access to a variety of spacecraft, as well as the U.S. domestic arc serving the Pacific, Atlantic, and Western Indian Ocean regions. Holmdel is the only U.S. teleport connecting with IS at 359 degrees East Longitude.

Santander teleport

The Santander teleport is a joint venture developed and completed by MTN and its technology partner, Erzia, a provider of VSAT maritime communications in Spain. The Santander teleport serves as a centralized gateway for MTN's VSAT communications with coverage over the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The facility is located in Santander, North Spain at 43°26’58.452’’N, 3°52’37.055’’W.

MTN Nexus

In November 2012, MTN launched plans for a next-generation hybrid communications network, MTN Nexus. Connectivity and content demands on cruise operators, specifically, increase significantly as cruise passenger and crew communications requirements grow. This new network will deliver sophisticated computing, caching and security infrastructure to deliver connectivity and communications to a degree never realized before at sea and in port. MTN Nexus will bridge the gap between land-based and sea-based connectivity and content delivery to cater to today's always-connected passengers and crew.

Challenges and acquisition

Panasonic and MTN

MTN and Panasonic teamed to launch a network for Airborne Communications and demonstrated capabilities with Lufthansaas in 2009. By 2012, Panasonic decided to create its own satellite network and abandon MTN services.

Loss of Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines left MTN in 2012 and partnered with Harris Corporation and O3B.

Carnival and lawsuit

In 2013, MTN was limited Carnival Cruise Lines internet services after Carnival Cruise Lines decided to leave the telecom provider for Harris Corporation. In 2014, Carnival Cruise Lines ended the Lawsuit with MTN after settling the dispute. The two companies created a deal where Carnival Cruise Lines would retain TV and microwave broadband services with MTN while doing satellite communications with Harris.

Acquisition

MTN was acquired by Emerging Markets Communications in 2015 for total cash consideration of $27.3 million plus the assumption of working capital liabilities and employee retention payments.Dahlberg, Nancy (2015
"Satellite communications firm EMC to acquire MTN of Miramar"
/ref> The website for MTN Government Services (www.mtngs.com) was removed and redirected.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.globaleagle.com/ * Communications satellite operators Miramar, Florida