Today, Carnival Corporation is attempting to deliver the greatest bandwidth to a mobile platform ever onboard its Princess Cruises brand’s Regal Princess. The benchmark the company aims to hit with its MedallionNet service is 1.5 gigabits per second.
“With MedallionNet, the best Wi-Fi at sea, the extraordinary experience of a cruise vacation is further enhanced by superior connectivity and coverage – providing our guests who want to stay connected with a connectivity experience that equals or exceeds what they experience on land,” said John Padgett, chief experience and innovation officer for Carnival Corporation, in a press release.
The cast of Carnival Corporation’s Ocean Originals TV programs will help test MedallionNet on the Regal Princess and at the brand’s private destination of Princess Cays, where the ship is currently located. They will stream in HD on Facebook Live, play mobile apps, FaceTime with friends and post other video stories on social networks.
MedallionNet is already available aboard Regal as of mid-November 2017. SES Networks is providing the satellite connection to the ship as well as Princess Cays. Now by pushing the technology even further, they claim internet speeds capable of surpassing typical shoreside hotels
“MedallionNet puts to rest the notion that connectivity at sea will never be as fast or reliable as your broadband at home,” said Steve Collar, CEO of SES Networks and Carnival Corporation Global Experience and Innovation partner, in the release.
“Powered by our O3b fleet of MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) satellites, and complemented by our GEO (Geostationary Earth Orbit) constellation, we are not only able to exceed average land-based bandwidth capabilities, but also able to set a new industry apex for guest connectivity experience.”
To more clearly convey what 1.5 gigabits per second of bandwidth capacity amounts to, it’s the equivalent of over 6,000 users simultaneously browsing the internet or 1,500 Netflix or Hulu subscribers streaming television shows or movies.
In regular use, MedallionNet is ready to exceed national baselines. According to an Ookla study, average U.S. fixed broadband download speed was 64.17 Mbps in the first half of last year, and the average upload speed was 22.79 Mbps. Meanwhile, the onboard connection can reach above 100 Mbps downloads and 60 Mbps uploads.
Technically, multiple antennae, networks, pieces of equipment, onboard access points and configuration innovations make up MedallionNet. The final bandwidth capacity will be measured later today by Mark Holmes, editorial director for the Satellite and Aviation Group of Access Intelligence.
Currently, MedallionNet is an exclusive feature of Medallion Class vessels, and the Regal Princess would be the only cruise ship in the world capable of achieving 1.5 gigabits per second. Elsewhere in the Carnival Corporation, various satellite service providers furnish internet and television connectivity.
When TravelPulse asked about a potential timeline for expanding the service to other Princess ships and Carnival Corp. vessels in the future, Padgett, on a conference call, added:
“Part of the global experience and innovation goal with the Carnival Corporation is to set the bar to things that haven’t been done before, and we really looked at how to develop concerns and challenges and accelerate innovation to establish those bars. With Princess [Cruises] specifically, Princess [Cruises] has developed a strategic plan that is … MedallionNet across the fleet in time.
“As it relates to a broader population, all the brands of the Carnival Corporation have all the information associated with MedallionNet to inform their strategic plan. So, sometimes you’ll see MedallionNet across a brand, and then you may also see innovative elements of MedallionNet applied across our fleet as well.”
Aboard Regal Princess, pricing for unlimited MedallionNet internet access is set for as low as $9.99 per day for one device if bought for the length of the cruise. Additional savings are available for multi-device plans.
