Royal Caribbean partners with SpaceX for faster internet
Image credit: Cruise Industry News
The world’s largest cruise line, Royal Caribbean, has announced a partnership with SpaceX, the rocket business founded by Elon Musk, in order to provide speedier internet while at sea.
On cruise ships, internet access is often fee-based, but historically, connection quality has been subpar.
According to Jason Liberty, CEO of Royal Caribbean, the agreement will “allow more high-bandwidth activities like video streaming.”
Starlink makes use of a sizable constellation of Earth-orbiting satellites.
The installation of Starlink on Royal Caribbean ships will start immediately and be finished by March 2023, according to a statement released by Mr. Liberty on Tuesday.
He claims that the partnership is “the greatest public deployment of Starlink’s high-speed internet in the travel sector to date.”
According to Mr. Liberty, this technology will offer our ships game-changing internet connectivity, increasing the cruise experience for both passengers and staff.
To bring high-speed internet to people who reside in rural areas, SpaceX operates Starlink.
It is dependent on a large number of its satellites that are positioned in a low-earth orbit. As a result, ground-to-satellite connections are made as quickly as possible.
After Russian soldiers invaded, shut down Ukrainian internet services, and attempted to ban social media earlier this year, Elon Musk launched Starlink in Ukraine. Ukrainian soldiers have also utilised the network to communicate while fighting.
The epidemic, which destroyed the worldwide tourism business, has had a significant negative impact on the cruise industry.
The profitability of businesses like Royal Caribbean, which runs the second-largest fleet of cruise ships in the world, improved this year as COVID-19 limitations were loosened.