Blogs

28 March 2025

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Navigating the Seas: How IoT and Satellite Communications Revolutionize Maritime Operations

Eseye

IoT Hardware and Connectivity Specialists

Although much of the world is served by cellular signal, many vertical IoT applications require devices to be installed in locations outside of population centers, which can have an impact on connectivity options. Maritime is one such industry.

Seas and oceans make up about 70% of the Earth’s surface and only an estimated 15% of the world’s geography is covered by cellular networks, with terrestrial base stations only extending range to about five miles off the coast. This makes satellite an ideal connectivity technology for communications and IoT.

As of January 2023, the world’s trading fleet consists of approximately 105,000 vessels navigating waterways for commercial, scientific, military, and recreational purposes, transporting some 20 million shipping containers across the high seas. These industries create significant opportunities and use cases for satellite IoT.

When satellite meets cellular for IoT

Satellite networks are revolutionizing how IoT devices stay connected in remote and underserved areas.

Introduced in the 3GPP Release 17 (Rel.17) standard, completed in 2022, one of the primary characteristics of the release is the support for non-terrestrial networks (NTN) such as satellites or high-altitude platforms.

NTN capabilities introduced in Rel. 17 enable 3GPP protocols designed for broadband (NR protocol) and for massive IoT (NB-IoT and eMTC) to be used for satellite communications and go a long way to meeting the increasing demand for connectivity in areas where traditional terrestrial networks may not be available.

Under Rel. 17, NB-IoT over NTN will combine a cellular modem and a satellite modem in the same module and SIM support to ensure that IoT devices can seamlessly switch between terrestrial and satellite networks when availability or network quality drops. This hybrid approach will ensure continuous device communication and data flow, regardless of a device’s location.

The three main types of satellite

3 different types of satellite - Eseye drawing

Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)

Orbits at an altitude of around 35,786km above the Earth
Offers the broadest coverage, but has higher latency
Ideal for broadcasting, communication services, B2B data, government and military applications

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)

Operates at altitudes of 2,000 to 35,786km
Includes systems such as Galileo and GPS
Mainly used for navigation, maritime and aviation tracking, communications services
Offers a balance between coverage and latency, which is five times lower than GEO

Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

Operates at altitudes of 160 to 2,000km
Provides the lowest latency and highest data transfer rates
Suitable for real-time IoT applications like autonomous vehicles and disaster response
Footprint is limited, so larger constellations are needed

Key applications for satellite IoT in maritime

According to research, the maritime satellite market is led by the merchant shipping segment, with a 39% share in 2022. Merchant shipping vessels rely heavily on satellite’s dependable global communication and data transmission capabilities across the expanse of the ocean to keep in touch with shore-based operations, improve navigational safety, operational efficiency, and regulatory compliance.

Tracking and monitoring is the main application dominating the global maritime satellite market with a 41% share. Satellites provide constant, worldwide coverage required for real-time vessel tracking and marine environmental monitoring, improving ship safety and security, allowing for more quick responses to crises and pirate concerns as well as the tracking of assets like shipping containers.

Vessel and cargo monitoring

Satellite IoT allows for real-time tracking of vessels and cargo, including millions of shipping containers, ensuring efficient logistics and optimizing routes.

Enhanced navigation and safety

With constant, reliable connectivity, satellite IoT supports advanced navigation systems, improving maritime traffic management.

Fleet management

Satellite IoT enables remote monitoring of vessel performance, engine efficiency, and maintenance both preventative and unexpected, leading to reduced operational costs and increased fleet reliability. Satellite-enabled IoT sensors can facilitate proactive maintenance and reduce downtime.

Improved communication

Satellite IoT provides reliable communication channels for operational activities, crew welfare, safety protocols, and emergency situations, ensuring timely response and efficient coordination. Satellite IoT also provides reliable connectivity in remote areas where terrestrial networks are unavailable.

Optimized logistics

By tracking shipping containers, cargo conditions, detecting deviations and streamlining logistics, satellite IoT helps ensure the timely monitoring, delivery and security of goods.

Environmental monitoring

Satellite IoT sensors can be used by authorities, regulators, and academics to monitor environmental conditions, such as water quality, air pollution, and marine life, contributing to sustainable maritime practices.

Data analysis and insights

Combined with big data analytics, AI and ML, the data collected through satellite IoT sensors can be analyzed to identify trends, optimize operations, and make informed decisions.

Cost reduction and optimization

By optimizing routes, reducing fuel consumption, and improving efficiency, satellite IoT can contribute to significant cost savings for maritime businesses.

Working with Eseye for seamless satellite-terrestrial network integration

t42 specialises in wireless systems that allow the remote GPS tracking, monitoring and protection of a variety of assets. The company’s previous connectivity provider’s coverage gaps were a major barrier to scaling IoT deployments internationally and supporting global customers.

Partnering with Eseye enabled t42 to provide robust global IoT connectivity for devices installed in vehicles, shipping containers and other units that are often on the move, achieving guaranteed connectivity uptime of almost 100%. The Eseye AnyNet+ eSIM can switch immediately and seamlessly to another network if connectivity happens to be interrupted.

Shipping containers play an important logistical role in the supply chain and require total connectivity coverage by land and sea. Eseye and Sateliot, a leader in IoT satellite connectivity, collaborated to provide t42 with satellite-terrestrial integration so that containers can be effectively tracked wherever they are on Earth, without dropping a connection.

t42’s trackers can connect to a satellite network where terrestrial cellular coverage is unavailable using the Rel.17 standard to achieve multi-RAT connectivity to non-terrestrial networks from a single SIM solution.

To date, t42 has scaled its IoT estate from zero to 2,500 devices in 12 months, keeping vehicles and their owners in multiple markets well-informed and safe. The focus is now shifting towards supply chain IoT, with a long-term vision to incorporate tracking and monitoring capabilities into every shipping container across the globe.

Challenges and opportunities for satellite adoption

The growth of satellite IoT has traditionally been hindered by more expensive data plans, hardware and service delivery. Being a more expensive technology hurts the business case for IoT, which is often used for low data, large scale initiatives.

Cellular networks are far more attractive for IoT, being cheaper, easier to integrate and generally offering higher data bandwidth. However, cellular’s main shortcoming is in geographic coverage, a pain felt especially sharply at sea.

So, there is a clear opportunity for cellular and satellite to work together in use cases that need near 100% global coverage or connectivity in remote and non-terrestrial regions.

At Eseye, we recommend that businesses start their satellite IoT journey using LTE technologies, which will survive into the NB-IoT over NTN era, and 5G proven proprietary solutions from operators that offer a roadmap to Rel. 17.

Sateliot is the first company to employ advanced satellite-based LPWAN and NTN NB-IoT technologies to expand IoT connectivity beyond terrestrial limits. Its LEO 5G/NB-IoT satellite constellation uses the Rel. 17 protocol to extend existing cellular networks to cover 100% of planet Earth from a single SIM solution.

Learn more about global IoT connectivity with seamless satellite-terrestrial integration