Síminn, a subsidiary of Skipti hf., presented three revolutionary solutions for the fishing industry at the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition held on 2–4 October. The first product is a VSAT satellite service for use onboard ships. The second offering is a long-range 3G mobile system that covers an area similar to that currently served by the NMT system, while new product number three involves Síminn setting up GSM transmitters onboard trawlers fishing in the waters around Iceland.

Sævar Freyr Thráinsson, President of Síminn, said that Síminn’s recent focus on a needs assessment in the fisheries sector had been fruitful, and that the new solutions would bring about a revolution in telecommunications access for those at sea. “We are among the first in the world to offer long-range 3G mobile services that will improve the quality of connections as well as providing realistic data transfer capabilities for mobile phones and laptops. Our decision to set up GSM transmitters onboard trawlers is a direct result of our experience of similar services onboard tourist liners. The service works by connecting the phone to the GSM transmitter onboard the trawler then up to a satellite and back to Iceland. A connection can be made wherever the ship is located, and other ships in the vicinity can also take advantage of the service.”

Sævar said that these innovations will greatly improve the quality of life of those working at sea. They will be in better contact with their families and friends, and the technology will also bring significant safety improvements. “For instance, these solutions will allow fisheries workers to send pictures of injuries they receive at work for diagnosis. Increased data transmission capacity from ship to shore will also allow for better fault identification in ships’ computer systems, which will simplify and shorten maintenance time.”