Maritime Communications Partner AS

1
Maritime Communications Partner AS

• The global maritime cellular operator

2
Background

• Trygve Sten Gustavsen
• Co founder of Maritime Communications Partner AS
  together with 3 other colleagues from the
  Ericsson office in Norway Alf S. Aanonsen, Knut
  Fjellheim, Kåre Thoresen Spissøy.
• Managing director of Maritime Communications
  Partner (MCP), an expanding company in the
  international marketplace
• MCP is currently employing 31 people

3
The company

• MCP as company is formed around a business idea
  conceived 4 years ago delivering standard
  wireless telecommunication systems aboard large
  passenger vessels.
• Supported by STS, and SND, the company was
  established late 2002.
• Bridge financing by Austagder Næringsselskap and
  Andreas Ugland secured early seed capital,
  enabling a capital injection of 38 MNOK spring
  2004
• The Global Maritime Cellular Operator. Maritime
  Communications Partner (MCP) is now the worlds
  first international maritime cellular operator,
  focusing on cost effective mobile communication
  solutions for the shipping industry.
• Dedicated to maritime communication. MCP develops
  top-notch technology for worldwide cellular
  communication, exploring new technologies to
  fulfill the markets expectations.

4
The Share Holders

• Northzone Ventures is a venture-capital company
  investing primarily in the Nordic market.
  Focusing on new technologies and new applications
  of technology that will drive high-impact change,
  it promises to invent new business categories or
  radically alter existing ones.
• Telenor ASA is the largest provider of
  telecommunication services in Norway, and has
  substantial international mobile operations. At
  the end of 2004, the companies where Telenor has
  ownership interests had a total of 52.7 million
  mobile subscriptions.
• The Ugland Group represents one of the oldest
  families in the maritime industry, consistently
  investing in maritime related technology, and
  being the main entrepreneur in developing
  Grimstad area into one of the strongest technical
  resource centers in Norway.

5
Mobile dependency

• During the last 15 years a quiet revolution in
  personal communication has been developing.
• The unique concept of everybody being available
  at all times has changed our culture indefinitely
• Both society and business life has taken a great
  step forward in means of the ability to react
  quickly on input and change
• We have become accustomed to, and also very
  dependent on being available, and able to
  communicate at all times, to the extent that it
  influences our choices of business life, family
  life, and travel
• There are actually very few places left on earth
  that we are not able to communicate, either by
  our own choice or by others around us
• There are several contributing factors. Where the
  most important are E-Mail, portable computers,
  and of course mobile phones
• There are always different opinions on evolution,
  but this change is one we all have had to adapt to

6
One of the last frontiers of silence
Ships in open waters are out of the reach of
mobile communications

• An increasing demand for mobile services is
  starting to affect the community
• People flat out require personal communications
  availability at all times
• Business, pleasure and personal
• Most importantly the necessity of people being
  available is influencing their choice of
  transport and location, and affecting business
  where services are unavailable

7
A new trend in passenger carriage at sea

• Carriers are focusing on new groups of passengers
• Huge enabler for conference service provisioning.
  

8
Mobile telephony, services and revenue

• Using the onboard cellular infrastructure the
  ship owner can reach his passengers by text
  messaging directly to their phones, i.e. for
  itinerary information and any other issues
• He can actively promote other services offered on
  board
• Branding and marketing, even lotteries and
  content provisioning are available options

Significant value can be added to the operation
by exploiting the possibilities enabled by the
mobile infrastructure
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Transformation from cost to revenue
Traditionally the ships satellite connection is a
cost, made viable by adding convenience and the
means for a more effective vessel operation

• Use of mobile communication
• provisioning of additional services
• Promotion of other on board services
• Passenger and crew Communication
• Passenger satisfaction
• Spare bandwidth usage on the existing connection
  makes for a more cost effective satellite link.

Introducing revenue sharing from the passengers
use of systems adds significant revenue to the
equation and removes the need for private
cellular systems
10
MCP a new concept

• MCP is an independent and fully acknowledged
  mobile operator
• The International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T)
  has approved MCP as a provider of international
  public telephony services defined as
  Super-Political Provider under country code 882
  together with actors like Iridium, Inmarsat
  Globalstar.
• MCPs operation is based on providing the
  cellular service from an international entity,
  namely the international waters of the high seas
• Where viable MCP seeks national licenses for
  added coverage
• MCPs Core business is to provide an attractive
  and high quality service portfolio to the ship
  owners and their passengers
• MCP is a full member of the GSM Association and
  the CDMA development group

• MCPs service concept and independent operation
  is unique in the world today

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Maritime telecom operations

• Ability to operate in any part of the world
• Interconnect via global actors necessary to
  access destinations worldwide
• Roaming with the passengers home operators
  necessary to provide a service
• Services must be offered on GSM and CDMA
  platforms
• Technology to enable good legal standing
  worldwide

12
The Technology

• Standard of the shelf Telephony systems are
  used to minimize costs and risk.
• Unique Technology is realized on standard
  production HW platforms and standard SW
  platforms.

13
Avoiding interference
The MCP system is a self adaptive network,
adapting the ships radio network frequency usage
at any time, avoiding conflict with other radio
networks
14
Vision

• Mobile telephony made available world wide, all
  oceans
• Within 2 years 95 of the cruise and ferry fleet
  will be connected
• Availability of low cost equipment and satellite
  connections will make services commercially
  available for a broad part of the worlds merchant
  navy and offshore industry

Mobile connectivity in open waters is no longer
beyond reach