Speedcast spoke with its own Terry Babin, the company’s global director for systems integration and professional services. He shared Speedcast’s many systems integration capabilities and more.
Speedcast is well known as a trusted provider for remote communications. What other complementary services can the Systems Integrations group provide?
In addition to being the world’s leading VSAT services provider, Speedcast offers a robust Systems Integration team that serves as a complete telecoms systems integrator for large integration projects onshore and offshore. Speedcast’s technical staff of engineers can design, build and deliver fully custom solutions that can seamlessly integrate connectivity services with a variety of systems, including:
- Corporate networking
- Security and access control
- Radio
- Sensors and tracking
- Navigation
- Entertainment
- Crew training
We are skilled in research studies, front-end engineering design, and full testing and verification services.
Are Speedcast’s Systems Integrations capabilities available all over the world?
Our team is truly global. While the primary engineering staff resides in Houston, we leverage Speedcast’s global footprint and talent to assist our customers, wherever they require our expertise. We are capable of managing a project out of any Speedcast location, reaching customer sites on six continents.
Is the Systems Integrations team focused on specific industries or customers?
The Systems Integration team isn’t associated with any one vertical in our organization. We support any customer that needs a large scale integration project. We have contracted and completed projects on vessels, offshore platforms, onshore plants, camps and even fire and police facilities in remote towns. We perform consultations for any customer requiring a unique communications solution.
What are some examples of robust projects that Speedcast’s Systems Integrations team has completed?
Our largest projects have been for energy customers. Many people know Speedcast for providing highly-reliable VSAT connectivity to deep water platforms, but often they don’t realize that we also designed and delivered the entire telecommunications systems as well. Our customers have dozens of crew living on an asset in the middle of the ocean, so reliable and robust communication both on and off the platform is critical. Systems like radar collision avoidance, the platform’s LAN/WAN, crew Wi-Fi, security CCTV, television reception and distribution, weather monitoring, public address and general alarm, and even the crane and lifeboat radios are all part of our scope for these customers.
Each individual system plays a valuable role in the safe operation of the facility and the welfare of the onboard crew. With Speedcast in charge of all of these systems, system monitoring and maintenance is simplified and more efficient.
Does a company need to be a Speedcast VSAT customer to request Systems Integration services?
Absolutely not! Many of our projects do not have a VSAT component at all. As a complete telecoms provider, we can leverage terrestrial fiber, subsea fiber, microwave line of sight radio, L-Band and/or cellular products, in addition to VSAT. We work with our customers to deliver the most reliable and cost effective solution to meet the needs of their project.
Other than large scale integration projects, what type of professional services does Speedcast’s Systems Integration group provide?
Speedcast has talented people all over the world that can assist with dedicated onsite staffing solutions and outsourced engineering resources. At any given time, Speedcast has more than 40 telecoms and IT professionals embedded at our customer facilities. Whether it’s an engineer, technician, radio operator or installer, Speedcast can fill temporary or permanent positions, giving our customers the flexibility of having skilled and trained personnel available immediately, without the direct hire commitment.