ScanReach is a Norwegian startup company that develops radio communication equipment for on-board wireless connectivity in the marine environment. As ships travel in various national and international waters, they have to conform to each state’s legal requirements regarding the use of frequency bands. In order to conform to these legal requirements, the ScanReach systems select frequency bands based on the GPS location of the ship. The 12 Nautical Miles Zone (Territorial Seas) of Marine Regions is used to identify in which state’s Territorial Sea the ship is located.
Keywords: ScanReach, Industry, frequency bands, Marine Regions, Maritime Boundaries, World 12 Nautical Miles Zone, Territorial Seas
Different regions have different requirements regarding the legal usage of frequency bands. For example, European states typically allow the usage of frequencies in the range 865-858 MHz while the USA allows usage of 902-928 MHz.
In order to conform to each state’s requirements, the radio frequency selection protocol of ScanReach selects frequency band based on the current GPS location of the vessel. Marine Regions is used to determine in which Territorial Sea the ship is located, and thus which frequency protocols apply.
Marine Regions is a standard list of marine georeferenced place names and areas. It integrates and serves geographic information from the VLIMAR Gazetteer and the MARBOUND database. The purpose of Marine Regions is therefore to create a standard, relational list of geographic names, coupled with information and maps of the geographic location of these features. This will improve access and clarity of the different geographic, marine names such as seas, sandbanks, ridges and bays and display univocally the boundaries of marine biogeographic or managerial marine areas.
Images courtesy of ScanReach.