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On Waves Renews Fleet-Wide Contract with MSC Cruises to Provide on Board GSM ConnectivityMIAMI --(Business Wire)-- On Waves Ehf, the leading maritime mobile services provider, announced today that it has renewed a Fleet wide contract that covers all MSC Cruises vessels. The agreement covers 10 vessels, including MSC Cruises newest vessel, the MSC SPLENDIDA, and will include additional new-builds in the future. On Waves services enable voice, SMS and Data connectivity at sea beyond land-based GSM coverage. Further, On Waves services will include Crew Calling pre-paid cards and an innovative platform to enable the vessel to provide informative text messages to passengers. "This agreement is a milestone in the industry and we are very proud to participate by offering our maritime GSM services to the passengers and crew of MSC Cruises," said Constantin Simeonidis, CEO for On Waves. "This renewal reflects the trust MSC Cruises places in On Waves throughout their global markets, including European and U.S. operations, and is an endorsement of the reliability of our maritime GSM services. We are highly honoured to serve as a key partner to MSC Cruises and their commitment to bring the best of the mobile technology to their guests." Mr. Emilio La Scala General Manager of MSC Cruises welcomed the extension of On Waves agreement to the fleet and the newest vessels. He said that maritime GSM services from On Waves have become an essential element of the company's electronic communications inventory, particularly with the growing demand by passengers for reliable, fast communication. He said the fleet-wide deployment over last year has proven to be a great success, particularly because of the ease of use and availability of telephony, data and SMS facilities for passengers and crew. About On Waves Ehf On Waves is a subsidiary of SIMINN, formerly known as Iceland Telecom, headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland. SIMINN has been providing roaming services to the maritime market since early 2003. On Waves acts as the maritime GSM service provider for Iceland's national telephony provider, SIMINN, a company with 1,500 employees, over 500 GSM roaming agreements and CDMA maritime roaming agreements with multiple carriers including Verizon Wireless, the leading U.S. wireless company. On Waves currently provides service to 60 vessels, both cruise ships and large ferries, operating in Europe, the Caribbean and the Southern hemisphere and has a significant backlog of additional vessels. On Waves also serves other maritime segments, including the merchant marine and offshore oil and gas sectors, where it is working to improve crew welfare. About MSC Cruises MSC Cruises currently has the most modern fleet in the world with nine ships: MSC Fantasia (the largest ship ever built for a European ship owner), MSC Poesia, MSC Orchestra, MSC Musica, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Armonia, MSC Opera, MSC Lirica, MSC Melody, cruising in the Mediterranean year round and seasonally in Northern Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, North and South America, the Indian Ocean and South Africa. MSC Splendida and MSC Magnifica will be launched, respectively, in 2009 and 2010. MSC Cruises is the only company to receive the "6 Golden Pearls" award from the Bureau Veritas in recognition of its high level of quality management and environmental protection. |
