New maritime satellite communication solution delivered by Ekinops and IEC Telecom Group
Nabil Ben Soussia of IEC Telecom Group
Ekinops, a supplier of optical transport equipment and router solutions for network operators, has launched OneGate with IEC Telecom Group, a global provider of managed network communication solutions.
OneGate is said to be an agile solution that protects the critical communications functions of maritime vessels. Powered by the Ekinops platform, OneGate by IEC Telecom delivers vital capabilities for the maritime sector. It enables full-vessel digitalisation, virtually controlled satellite communications links, and multiple levels of cyber-security, ensuring always-on availability of secure, critical communications.
Developed in partnership with Ekinops, OneGate utilises the ONEV600 virtual router from Ekinops’ OneAccess portfolio built on Ekinops’ Open Virtualisation Platform (OVP).
“We initially began the project using an open source product but faced difficulties in what we were able to achieve,” says Nabil Ben Soussia, VP Maritime, IEC Telecom Group. “We had already been working closely with Ekinops as a strategic partner for many years for our Orion Edge solution, developed using the Ekinops WAN optimisation terminal. So, when Ekinops launched their virtualisation platform, we knew that it would resolve numerous problems, as well as enable us to deliver new services in the future”.
Frank Dedobbeleer
Operating on Ekinops’ Open Virtualisation Platform, the OneV600 enables the creation of value-added hybrid WAN services and delivers an extensive range of carrier-grade switching and routing functions for an NFV environment including link redundancy between 4G, VSAT and L-band, routing between LANs and WANs, Quality of Service and the connection of multiple VNFs and sub-networks.
The system seamlessly reroutes available bandwidth to essential processes to ensure vital communications are not lost, whatever the circumstances. Whether a vessel is trapped in the middle of a storm or facing a cyber-attack, OneGate will maintain connections and protect vital operations.
Frank Dedobbeleer, VP Group Sales EMEA & APAC, at Ekinops said: “In an increasingly digitalised world, we work in partnership with our customers to tailor solutions to specifically answer their current and future needs. OneGate is a prime example of this approach. Ekinops virtualisation technology has enabled OneGate to host all applications IEC Telecom’s end-users require. We are delighted to have extended our partnership to deliver this pioneering solution.”
Central to the initiative was IEC Telecom’s need to support legacy WAN optimisation products while migrating to a virtualised environment. “The OneAccess OVP platform enables us to use the same service and add a number of additional services via the same hardware, which is very important in our industry,” adds Nabil Ben Soussia. “The fact that we have the same hardware platform hosting all our current and future services is a real added value for us. I am confident that this will be one of many success stories for Ekinops and IEC Telecom.”
OneGate is compatible with requirements of all major satellite operators, including the most innovative Irdium Certus network. OneGate has already been adopted by Thuraya Telecommunications, one of the key international operators and negotiations with other market players are now being held.
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