Canadian Coast Guard selects Telesat

The Canadian Coast Guard has selected the Canadian company Telesat to provide ship to shore communications via satellite. This represents the second commercial phase for the European Space Agency (ESA) supported project Marine eCommerce Applications (MeCA).

MeCA started in 2005, when Telesat began offering Internet services to passengers aboard Canadian ferries. The new agreement with the Canadian government calls for Telesat to provide satellite equipment to selected Coast Guard vessels, which will be used to access e-mail, watch satellite television and use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones.

The project has recently completed its first phase at a Telesat testing facility. In phase two, which began in April 2006, the first vessel in the Coastguard’s Maritimes region has been equipped with the satellite equipment. Phase 3 will involve installation and training as well as introduction of the system to the four remaining Coast Guard regions: Newfoundland, Quebec, Central and Arctic, and Pacific.