Vistar Datacom, a provider of satellite-based communications services, announced the sale of 6,800 GlobalWave satellite communications terminals to Satellite Intermodal Express.
The terminals will be installed on SIE's intermodal fleet to provide satellite tracking and management of shipments from the shipper to the consignee as well as traveling via trailer-on-flat-car.
Vistar's GlobalWave two-way satellite data communications terminals will be integrated with SIE's proprietary logistics solution. Freight will be shipped in 53-foot, GlobalWave-equipped, Great Dane trailers. Customers will be able to track and monitor a shipment from their desktops via SIE's on-line system, Shipperscape, and using GlobalWave's two-way communication capabilities.
"We decided to go with the Vistar solution because we needed a two-way satellite system [as opposed to cellular] in order to guarantee our customers continuous, reliable coverage anywhere in North America," said Ron Tackbary, President and CEO of Satellite Intermodal Express. "By combining the GlobalWave terminal with our proprietary Shipperscape logistics solution, we can provide our customers with crucial information about the location and status of their shipments."
Satellite Intermodal Express intends to have an additional 20,000 trailers installed with tracking solutions over the next three to five years.
The GlobalWave system offers ubiquitous satellite coverage over all of North America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, and operates 24 hours a day, according to the company. The GlobalWave MT2000 terminal represents the smallest most powerful satellite communications product available, and is capable of performing a number of functions, including transmitting information on volume, temperature, pressure, and voltage; producing reports on location and speed; and triggering alarms when sensor thresholds are exceeded.