REVIEWS. Case Study: Broadband Affordability. Continuous satellite connectivity via smalldome broadband is readily available but at what cost?

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1 REVIEWS Case Study: Broadband Affordability Continuous satellite connectivity via smalldome broadband is readily available but at what cost? Electronics by Though many sailors anticipate cutting the cord when sailing off into the sunset, the desire to maintain contact with family and friends or to manage business and personal affairs from afar often finds the contemporary cruiser seeking a level of voice and data connectivity that was unimaginable 10 or 15 years ago. While there are numerous options available, during a recent 18-month passage aboard Visions of Johanna our Chuck Paine-designed 62-footer built by Morris Yachts we tested and utilized two small-dome broadband satellite systems, an Iridium OpenPort unit and a KVH Fleet Broadband 150 that employs Inmarsat BGAN. Over the course of the journey, we sent or received nearly 8,000 underway satellite messages using our dedicated boat address, not 88

2 counting the nonessential messages sent or received to personal accounts either shoreside (at Internet cafés) or in harbor (via the boat s router) when we had a WiFi connection. Although the messages were generally rather small (4 to 5 kilobytes), each month they added up to a notable amount of data. Range of Options For long-range communications, the cheapest option remains high-frequency radio using an SSB/amateur-radio kit and a Pactor modem. But speeds are slow, messages are limited in size, conducting business over the free airmail system is prohibited, and you re dependent on radio propagation. But the price is certainly right, and it s used widely by lots of cruisers. Still, many sailors believe that the simplicity and convenience of satellite communications trumps budgetary constraints, so they employ a hybrid setup, using HF when they have the time and good reception and a portable satellite phone when they don t. Whatever your choice, I d never suggest going cruising without an SSB or HF transceiver aboard, as they re your best emergency option, and the international cruising nets provide valuable information. If you don t already have one and are fitting out your boat, an SSB radio, which costs $1,200 to $3,000, including the antenna and ground plane, is an important investment. Now, adding a Pactor II or III modem is a different discussion. Aboard VOJ, we decided to invest that $1,250 toward newer technologies. For years, the only reasonable global satellite solution was a portable Iridium phone (priced at around $1,300); it was usually matched with an external antenna and docking station, for a total cost of about $2,200. Most cruisers purchase prepaid Iridium cards in bundles from 500 to 5,000 minutes, at a cost of $0.85 to $1.25 per minute. Data is charged by the minute and is transmitted quite slowly, at 2.4 kilobits per second. In practice, this means it takes about 68 minutes per megabyte, at a cost of between $60 and $85 per megabyte for data, depending on how many prepaid minutes you ve purchased; the more you buy, the better the discount. For occasional s without any attachments, this isn t too painful, but weather files can quickly add up, and a system that provides compression and resumes a failed connection is a must. With the recent introduction of the isatphone Pro, which also utilizes Inmarsat s BGAN satellite system, there s a new player on the handheld-sat-phone front. The phone alone costs only $620, but the dock and external Aboard Visions of Johanna (left), the solidstate Iridium antenna is mounted on the port spreader, while the dome antenna for the KVH Fleet Broadband 150 is to starboard. The ISatPhone (above) is a new player on the handheld-sat-phone scene. antenna reportedly a very important component in rough conditions brings the package up to $2,100. If you purchase a decentsized bundle, voice transmissions cost just $0.75 per minute. The data rate, also billed by the minute, is slightly slower (about 1.7 kilobits per second) and works out to about $60 per megabyte, similar to or slightly less than the Iridium. This new phone has been available for a while, but the data package was just released last spring, so real-world consumer reviews are just now appearing. One advantage of handheld systems is portability; you can carry them off the boat in an emergency (although questions have been raised about the reliability of an Inmarsat call from a life raft). However, as our communications requirements continue to transfer from voice to , the disadvantages of portable systems slower data speeds at higher costs become greater. The new generation of small-dome broadband satellite systems, meanwhile, such as those on VOJ, allows even smaller vessels to enjoy continuous streaming broadband internet, with speeds between 32 kilobits per second (for the Iridium Openport) and 150 kilobits per second (for the Fleet Broadband 150), at a capital cost of around $4,800 to $6,200, respectively. Depending on your contract, voice rates cost between $0.75 and $1.15 per minute, and data rates can drop to an almost reasonable $13.50 per megabyte. Best of all, data is charged by A YEARLY COST Breakdown of Cruising Communications Courtesy of isatphone Boats HF Data Satellite WiFi Cell Cell Satellite Home Total Data Data Voice Voice Voice Soggy Paws $250 $1,125 $630 $40 $180 $0 $672 $2,897 Visions of Johanna $0 $954 $104 $0 $340 $930 $0 $2,328 89

3 reviews electronics actual usage, not transmission time, so from a cost standpoint, connection speed isn t an issue. Of course, the real question when determining a communications budget is your personal needs, the options available, and the premium you place on high-speed onboard access. Crossing the Pacific, we met plenty of boats that only had HF aboard and a few that relied solely on land connections when in port. Their offshore voice and data budgets were literally nothing, but they were much more dependent on shoreside WiFi, Internet cafés, and cellphones, which are either hard to find or quite expensive on many Pacific islands. Two Case Studies To truly evaluate the real-world costs of broadband satellite versus The complete KVH TracPhone FB 150 unit, which employs the Inmarsat BGAN network, consists of the compact, stabilized dome antenna and a connected handset. HF with occasional portable sat-phone usage, I compared the actual usages of two yachts over the course of a year, sailing in similar cruising grounds. Our good friends Dave and Sherry McCampbell on Soggy Paws, a highly customized CSY 44, are full-time cruisers on a fixed budget. We met up with them in Ecuador and sailed together to Easter Island and Pitcairn, the Gambiers, then north through the Tuamotus, where they continued onward to Hawai i and we headed west toward New Zealand. The two boats had similar data needs but very different types of connection methods, so they make a useful comparison. We cruised in tandem with Soggy Paws for six of the 12 months in question, but for this review, they were kind enough to share their spending output for the entire year. On Visions of Johanna, we averaged about 435 messages, or 19.2 megabytes, per month. We used a dedicated, boat-only address, to avoid unimportant messages, as well as a highly important compressed and large-message management service called xgate. With services like xgate, you can wait to download a big attachment until you reach shore while still getting your other messages. These data controls, combined with occasional shoreside WiFi connections, cut our actual satellite usage to just under 6 megabytes of data per Courtesy of KVH 90

4 month over the course of our cruise. On average, we also used 106 minutes of voice per month, just over our service plan with Globe Wireless, which included 100 voice minutes monthly (at a cost of $73, for which we also received 13.5 megabytes of data). On top of these onboard communications costs as we could often find a ready source of free WiFi via our own high-power onboard WiFi system we averaged costs of only $10 a month on shoreside Internet and WiFi. (See Logging on to Onboard WiFi, page 92.) As many cruisers do, in most countries we visited we also bought local SIM cards (and sometimes two, for communication among ourselves), averaging $30 a month on local cellphones. In countries where voice rates to the United States were inexpensive (such as American Samoa and Panama), we used the cellphones regularly to call home. In such places as French Polynesia, where calls to the United States were more costly, we used them strictly for local calls and for connecting with other cruisers or each other; we made calls home via satellite. Voice rates for local calls in most ports, especially in South America, were usually either reasonable or downright cheap. But mobile data rates were still rather expensive, and in most places we visited, I never managed to access data via cellphone very well. It takes time to decipher regional nuances, especially in a foreign language, and cruisers who utilized these cell data plans successfully tended to be relatively stationary for longer periods than we were. We did find our high-powered WiFi system very handy and were often able to receive signals at anchor when other cruisers were forced to head ashore. In fact, in the Galápagos, where the government has installed a massive and powerful free WiFi system, I was able to connect and download s over nine miles from the nearest civilization. Aboard Soggy Paws, Sherry manages all her banking and finances, including some rental properties, online. She also administers both her excellent cruising website ( as well as websites for a few friends. She s definitely a computer geek, and her data usage perhaps reflects that fact, but it s still on par with anyone who s still managing affairs back home from afar. Soggy Paws carries a portable Iridium phone, but their primary method of communication is via SailMail and Winlink across HF radio. Sherry feels that SailMail s vast presence in the Pacific, greater functionality, and the ability to conduct business are well worth the $250 annual fee. When using her Iridium phone or with weak WiFi connections, she also regularly uses the efficient and robust SailMail telnet system to compress files and resume lost connections. On passage, or if propagation is a problem, the McCampbells use their portable Iridium phone for data connections, but they rarely use it for voice. In foreign countries, they also bought local SIM cards for their unlocked cellphone, which they used primarily for local calls or to phone home when rates were favorable. In Hawai i, they bought a mobile data card and a Cradlepoint router to allow the cellular data connection to be shared among multiple computers, but I haven t found many sailors who found this system successful outside of the Americas. The couple also maintains an active cellphone plan in Florida so they have a consistent number when they go home, and they were able to use that for voice calls once they reached Hawai i. With their more limited onboard connectivity, they spend a lot more time and money going ashore for their Internet fix, and that s 91

5 reflected in their yearly breakdown of costs. While it s a tedious process to record all cruising costs, both boats use accounting software to track costs and expenses. A Yearly Cost Breakdown of Cruising Communications, the table on page 89, itemizes the communications costs for VOJ and Soggy Paws over a year. Note that Soggy Paws expended most of its WiFi budget in French Polynesia, where WiFi is quite costly, and where the boat spent considerable more time than VOJ did. As the analysis shows, although the two crews employed two very different approaches, they spent very similar amounts, if you discount the home cellphone. The initial capital expense for our broadband satellite system ($4,800) cost $1,350 more than their portable sat phone and Pactor modem ($3,450), but for that extra sum, we enjoyed considerable convenience. At all times we had a switched-on, relatively fast Internet connection, yet our yearly output was similar to that of Soggy Paws. A faster broadband system coupled with its less expensive data rate made up for the fact that we used five times as much data over the course of the year. Broadband satellite may not be for everyone, but in the long run, many cruisers will find it quite affordable. We ve been pleased with our decision, and we believe that we ve saved quite a bit of money on data charges and that our initial capital expense will be amortized within three or four years of cruising. In the meantime, we have an extremely convenient communications solution. A graduate of the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, worked at Pedrick Yacht Designs in Newport, Rhode Island, before sailing with his family across the Pacific on Visions of Johanna. He s now in New Zealand managing a major refit of Johanna following an engine-room fire. Editor s Note: At press time, some new Inmarsat price changes were announced. Visit www. /1109inmarsat for updates. Logging on to Onboard WiFi The following isn t a comprehensive review of available products but a guide for evaluating a system for your boat and its requirements. Many WiFi systems are available for sailors, ranging in cost from $50 to $1,000. But during our 18 months of cruising aboard Visions of Johanna, we discovered that while many crews had spent as much or more than we did and were unhappy with the performance not one of them had better WiFi reception. Our Port Networks 250 system, based on a high sensitivity Ubiquiti Networks radio, utilizes large diameter LMR-400 coax to connect the 12 feet from the lazarette-mounted radio to the 10-decibel antenna on the radome post. There are certainly cheaper, smaller, and even more powerful systems out there, but what this one had going for it was a high-quality, high-sensitivity radio and a good antenna connection utilizing large-diameter wire and N-type connectors. It s important to avoid what s known as an alligator radio in trucker slang, a radio that s all mouth and no ears, putting out a ton of power but possessing so much noise or distortion that it 92

6 As I write from a marina just north of Auckland, New Zealand, my Internet is coming from a house 2 kilometers away and over a hill! can t receive a weak signal. Since WiFi signals must go both ways, you need a balance between output power and input sensitivity, and since sailors generally need better download than upload speeds, the radio sensitivity and antenna system is actually more important than output power. I also prefer devices that utilize POE (power over Ethernet) as opposed to USB, as they can be connected with long cable runs, are much easier to waterproof, tend to be more industrial and better built, and are more flexible or versatile. In other words, you can connect either to a computer or to an onboard WiFi router to redistribute the Internet connection to multiple devices on your boat, which is very handy. Again, there are lots of brands out there, and I m sure many are good, but I ve been very happy with our Ubiquiti Networks unit. In fact, as I write this article from a marina just north of Auckland, New Zealand, my Internet is coming from a house 2 kilometers away and over a hill! Two Ubiquiti outdoor WiFi access points bounce the signal all the way to our slip, saving me the cost of the marina s very expensive service. Since I purchased our system three years ago, there are now less-expensive options that will probably do as good a job because they place the now miniaturized radios directly under the antenna, mitigating signal loss in the cable. Even so, I still make the following recommendations: Limit Cable LOSS: Unless the antenna cable is very short (measuring 3 to 6 inches), you want N-type connectors and.5-inch-diameter LMR-400 cable. LMR-400 cable is readily available and inexpensive because it s used commonly in cellphone towers. LMR-400 UF has a stranded center core and is therefore more flexible. avoid AlligaTORS: High output power which is easy to generate and looks good on a spec sheet doesn t help much unless the radio and antenna system are sensitive enough to hear the response. Eliminate Inefficient Software: When trying to find free or open WiFi systems, you may have to weed through 10 to 15 different signals before you find one that works, so you want a system that s easy and quick to use. We ve even been known to putter around an anchorage looking at the real-time signal meter in order to drop the hook in a spot where we ll be ensured of a good signal! It may seem silly to navigate by WiFi, as we call it, but it can save real money in satellite-connection charges if we can send and receive over WiFi instead of the sat-com. 93