In the maritime vsat game, does C-band stand above Ku in an SCPC network due to wider coverage and non-rain fade characteristics? I know there are a few other trade-offs eg. size of remote, but what other things are worth considering in setting up such a hypothetical network?

Hi,

The big two things you will need to check are:
1. The ship route - and provide satellite or satellites with the right footprint.
2. Inbound and outbound bandwidth...and do the link budget according to the available platforms you have - c or Ku.

Dish size is a big issue, many times it is very difficult to find a place for the big C band system on the ship. Not to mention the price.

Ku band sometimes affected by some radar signals.

good luck
Nimrod

If the service provider changes and their network equipment requires changes ie say from idirect to hughes etc, going from one footprint onto another say for a global ship, how does that work? Or is that not necessary if you have the correct option files loaded onto one modem, I'm not really sure how that transition happens. Or are we talking more than one antenna?
I didn't know Ku band was compromised by some radars, I know C band does.

Hi there, I would not reccomend C Band. Service availability will be more or less the same everytime you sign a contract. However a Ku will give you much more speeds availability since all maritime ISPs will improve their bandwidth only in KU footprints.