SES Networks (O3b mPOWER) WiFi — Cruises + Flights
MEO satellite operator powering Royal Caribbean VOOM, Princess MedallionNet and government / aviation customers.
Provider Snapshot
Where you'll find it
About SES Networks (O3b mPOWER)
SES is one of the world's largest satellite operators, with a hybrid GEO + MEO fleet that includes the O3b and O3b mPOWER medium-earth-orbit constellation. O3b mPOWER sits between traditional geostationary satellites (~36,000 km, ~600ms latency) and Starlink's LEO (~550 km, ~30ms latency) — orbiting at ~8,000 km it delivers GEO-class throughput with much lower latency (~150ms typical), which is good enough for video calls and remote work. In maritime, SES is the original "fast cruise WiFi" provider: Royal Caribbean's VOOM service runs on O3b mPOWER, and Princess Cruises' MedallionNet is a Princess-branded service powered by SES capacity. SES also serves government, mobility (some flights), and enterprise customers, and is increasingly layered alongside Starlink rather than replaced by it — cruise lines often run both for capacity and redundancy.
History
SES has operated GEO satellites since 1985 (originally as Société Européenne des Satellites in Luxembourg). It acquired the O3b Networks MEO constellation in 2016 and launched the second-generation O3b mPOWER system from 2022 onwards. Royal Caribbean's VOOM, launched in 2014, was the first major commercial deployment of O3b at sea and remains a flagship customer; Princess Cruises picked SES capacity for its MedallionNet service. SES also serves cellular backhaul, government/military comms, energy, and aviation customers via SES networks (formerly SES Mobility).
Operators using SES Networks (O3b mPOWER) (2)
Cruise (2)
How SES Compares
SES is the only operator running a meaningful MEO constellation, which is a genuine middle ground between GEO and LEO. At sea, O3b mPOWER delivers GEO-busting throughput with usable latency, and pre-Starlink it was the closest thing to fast cruise WiFi. Post-Starlink, most cruise lines layer the two together rather than picking one — Royal Caribbean explicitly runs both for VOOM. Long term, SES faces the same LEO competitive pressure as everyone else, but the maritime customer base is sticky and the multi-orbit story is credible.
| SES | Starlink | |
|---|---|---|
| Orbit | GEO / ATG (high latency) | LEO (~30ms latency) |
| Typical Speed | 50–200 Mbps typical at sea (O3b mPOWER); 150ms latency | 100+ Mbps typical, 350+ peak |
| Latency | ~600ms (GEO) / 60–100ms (ATG) | ~20–44ms |
| Trajectory | Defending installed base | Rapid airline adoption |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SES O3b mPOWER?
O3b mPOWER is SES's second-generation medium-earth-orbit (MEO) satellite constellation. It orbits at about 8,000 km — much lower than traditional geostationary satellites (~36,000 km), which means much lower latency (~150ms vs ~600ms) while still offering broadband-class capacity per beam.
Which cruise lines use SES?
Royal Caribbean Group (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Silversea) uses O3b mPOWER as the foundation of its VOOM service. Princess Cruises uses SES capacity for MedallionNet. Disney Cruise Line historically used SES/MTN before adding Starlink. Many cruise lines now run SES and Starlink in parallel.
SES vs Starlink for cruises — which is better?
They serve different roles. Starlink offers the lowest latency and highest peak speeds. SES O3b mPOWER offers very high sustained throughput per beam, more predictable performance with thousands of concurrent users, and global maritime regulatory coverage. Most large cruise lines run both — Starlink for the consumer-facing wow factor, SES as a steady backbone.
Does SES work in flights?
Yes — SES (formerly SES Mobility) provides connectivity to some commercial and business aviation customers, but its aviation footprint is much smaller than its maritime, telecom-backhaul and government businesses.
Is O3b mPOWER the same as Starlink?
No. O3b mPOWER is a much smaller MEO constellation (a few dozen satellites at ~8,000 km). Starlink is a LEO mega-constellation (thousands of satellites at ~550 km). MEO trades latency for fewer satellites and bigger per-satellite beams — a different engineering trade-off.