Article by Capt. Steve Katz
Satellite
Communications
It started back in February and is now a reality, the new satellite hotspot devices have arrived! Six months ago, two major satellite communication carriers announced new, similar products that would let customers use voice and data through these new devices that communicate with satellites high in the sky.
The new Iridium Go! and the Globalstar Sat-Fi are both great products with reasonably priced hardware and air time plans.
If you plan to get one of these devices to surf the internet, you will be disappointed. The data speeds are very slow compared to what we are used to with cable modem and 4G phone service. Globalstar and Iridium use data compression to help the transfer of data, but actual speeds are slower than the days of the dial-up modem. Globalstar advertises their data speed is 4x faster than Iridium Go!, but still only 9.6kbps. While some limited web browsing may be possible, it will be slow. Emails with text should be fine, although picture attachment will require a small file size.
While there are significant differences in the products, but some basic functions are the same. These new devices consists of a small antenna mounted with a clear view of the sky to send and receive signals from the boat to the Globalstar or Iridium satellites orbiting the earth.
The antenna connects to a small, below deck device (black box) powered by the boats electrical system. This hardware device has a built-in Wi-Fi router, creating it's own wireless network (hotspot) aboard the boat. It’s a very simple system. The rest of the system hardware is up to you, so you will need to bring your own device (BYOD).
Iridium Go! and the Globalstar Sat-Fi both have applications (apps) that run on Apple or Android smart phones, tablets etc. It is these apps that connect you to the hardware and allow you talk on the phone, send email or browse the internet. You will use your everyday iPhone or Android phone too make and receive satellite calls through the satellite hotspot. This also allows you to have your address book and contacts available for satellite calls too. For example, you would get on your boat, turn on the new satellite system, take out your smartphone, connect to the boats Wi-fi system with a password, open an app to make a call or send email through the satellite system.
The Globalstar system hardware is designed to be permanently mounted below the deck. The hardware is a black box, about 6” square and 2.5-inch tall, with one button/indicator light on the front and power and antenna connections on the back. The box has a Wi-Fi coverage range of about 100 feet. The box is designed for 12volts dc power and comes with adapters to permanently wire the device, a cigarette lighter style plug for temporary installation and a wall adapter for connecting to household power. The external marine antenna is about 10” tall and designed to fit on a standard marine mount. Two small coax wires run from the antenna and connect to the below deck hardware. The Sat-Fi system allows up to eight users to be connected at once to the hotspot, though all users share one satellite phone line.
The Iridium GO! Hardware is designed to be mobile, with a built-in antenna and battery. The device is heavy duty, designed to be used outside in weather and rain, meeting military-grade ruggedness (MIL-STD 810F) and Ingress Protection (IP65). The device is hand held, measuring 4.5" x 3.25" x 1.25" and weigh about 10 ounces. There is a small display on the unit to show signal strength and battery life along with other information. The rechargeable battery has about 6 hours of talk time and 16 hours of standby time before a recharge is needed. An optional power cord is available to provide constant power from the boat.
Additionally an external antenna is also available that will allow you to mount the unit inside the boat. The Go! system allow up to 5 users to be connected to the system at one time.
Both of these systems have excellent coverage in the United States and offshore waters, though the Iridium system has coverage that extends around the entire globe, where the Globalstar coverage only extends through the Bahamas and Caribbean and does not currently include Central America. Be sure to check the coverage maps from each provider.
Many of you may remember the poor coverage and unreliable satellites from Globalstar in the past. Last year, Globalstar completed the launch of its second generation of 32 Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites. These new satellites are designed to last for 15 years, twice the lifespan of Globalstar's first-generation satellites.
The Iridium Low earth orbiting satellite constellation consists of 66 active satellites, providing global coverage. Next year, Iridium plans to begin launching new satellites as part of the upcoming NEXT constellation, a second generation system to replace the older satellites constellation that was launched in the late 1990's.
So how much does this all cost?
The Iridium Go! Hardware has a list price of $899. The Iridium service plans start at $50/month and go up to $200/month. The upper plans include unlimited data and pre-paid plans are also available. The optional external marine antenna, adapter and cable starts around $500.
The Globalstar Sat-Fi has a list price of $999 and includes everything you need for a permanent marine installation. The Globalstar price plans begin at $40/month and go up to $150/month with unlimited voice and data. Globalstar also has annual plans with the same pricing but the minutes and data can be used anytime in the year.
While these plans and hardware may not be cost justifiable for everyone, the costs are significantly less than the conventional voice and data satellite systems that are in the $17,000 (KVH TracPhone V3IP) range and service that runs thousands of dollars a month.
Does it work?
A recent install of the Globalstar Sat-Fi went smoothly after working through the limited documentation provided by Globalstar for set-up and configuration. Yes, the system works good so far. Phone calls are clear, with only a slight delay (voice calls are made using Voice Over IP or VoIP similar to Vonnage, Skype etc). The Iridium Go! just started shipping last week and I do not yet have any first hand reports as of yet.
Captain Steve Katz is the owner of Steve's Marine Service and holds NMEA MEI, AMEI, NMEA2000 certificates, ABYC Master Technician certification and factory training from many manufacturers.
