Astrocast welcomes Marine Instruments as strategic investor

The Ecublens based startup Astrocast is a provider of nanosatellite IoT network solutions and the only IoT company partner with the aerospace industry leaders Thuraya, the ESA and Airbus to achieve their mission of providing advanced and sustainable Satellite IoT communication network. Astrocast’s network comprises 64 CubeSats satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), a constellation that will be configured with 8 planes of 8 satellites in polar orbit enabling global coverage with a two-way network and highly secure connection to any IoT device on Earth with a maximum latency of 15 minutes. Applications include maritime, environmental, mining, oil and gas where the network enables monitoring.

One of Astrocast’s customers is Marine Instruments, the world-leading producer of echo-sounder buoys for the maritime industry who is currently leading the path towards sustainable fisheries with their vision of digital oceans. Marine Instruments is now joining in Astrocast as a strategic investor.

Prior to investing in Astrocast, Marine Instruments developed a close relationship with Astrocast, having been deeply involved in its ongoing pilot program. They were attracted by Astrocast’s low cost, ultra-low power Astronode S terminal scheduled for launch early next year along with its highly competitive data plan and pricing. As Astrocast’s network is based on the L-Band frequency, this provides Marine Instruments with the reliability they need to operate their buoys in all weather conditions while still utilizing low profile antennas.

Marine Instruments was also particularly attracted by the downlink multicast functionality that Astrocast’s network will offer; this will enable them to push substantial software updates to their buoys deployed globally.