Full summer is upon us, and for anyone who is fortunate enough to get out on the water, it’s absolutely fabulous out there! Since living on the shores of the Med for the last 25 years it has been clear to me that the best way of enjoying life is to be afloat during the summer and ashore during the winter.
However, I realize that many of you are afloat to work, and that can be tough, especially when your owner and guests cannot connect and are making your life difficult.
As I mentioned last month, we have a new solution that is working really well. It’s our European Data Free Roaming SIM card, which can be used across Europe and beyond on both 3G and 4G with up to 1 Terabyte of data per month. It’s so good that over 180 yachts have already taken it on over the last six weeks. One large yacht client sent us the following screen shot of his speed test in a crowded St Tropez anchorage last week!
The following is written by my colleague Diane Franklin. She has included some interesting statistics which never cease to surprise me.
Hungry as a SIM!
If it would take a surgical procedure to separate you from your smartphone then take heart – you are not alone.
A recent Google report claims that there are now over 2.6 billion users worldwide, and that the vast majority of us can’t bear to be separated from our smartphones.
The report “Micro-moments” perhaps reinforces what we all know about the relationship smartphone users have with their mobile devices:
68% of phone users say they check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up.
87% always have their smartphone at their side, day, and night.
On average people check their phones 150 times per day and spend 177 minutes using them.
82% of smartphone users say they consult their phone during shopping in a physical location.
91% of users turn to their phones for ideas in the middle of a task.
Owners and guests are no exception: they expect seamless connectivity for their data hungry devices when they move from shore to yacht. The average smartphone user uses between 2.5 and 3GBytes of cellular data per month. Multiply that figure by the number of guests joining the yacht for the summer, plus crew, and you’ll have some idea of what to expect.
We at e3 Systems provide connectivity solutions tailored to suit the needs of any given yacht. Our HYBRID system synchronizes land and satellite communications to ensure seamless connectivity.
We have been providing land and satellite communication services to yachts for 20 years and our market research indicates that the average yacht typically spends about 84% of its time inshore each year, in range of land based connectivity such as GSM, 3G, 4G and 4G LTE. More often than not, if the yacht does venture outside the 12 nm coastal limit, it returns to shore in the evening to enjoy shore based facilities such as restaurants and casinos.
This is when 3G and 4G come into their own and many yachts are now using these services to complement their satellite communications. One of the great pleasures of cruising in the Mediterranean is visiting all the different countries, exploring changing coastlines and experiencing different cultures. However, until recently the downside of using 3G and 4G in this cruising area is that yachts have had to change national data SIM cards each time they enter another county, or risk incurring very high roaming charges with a massive bill!
The long awaited proposal by the European Parliament to eliminate roaming charges in Europe is expected to take effect from June 2017. However, we at e3 have pre-empted the change by offering a Vodafone Data Roaming SIM which covers 40 countries, including the popular cruising grounds of the Mediterranean. It uses all networks available.
Launched just over a month ago, many yachts are already using this service and the feedback has been excellent. It works on 3G and 4G around the whole of the Mediterranean at considerably reduced rates and up to 1 Terabyte of data per month – going a long way towards supporting the needs of charter guests who typically use up to 3GBs per month.
Once set up for the summer, there is no need to change SIMs or settings when moving from country to country, and monthly upgrades or downgrades can be applied as required.
This 3G/4G service can be used using standard routers or with the e3.Unite aggregator which is powered by Cellweaver. This means that 4 SIMs can be combined together to create up to a 100Mbps data connection. Once this is set up, no reconfiguring is needed and you can enjoy a hassle free data SIM summer.
This system will complement any satellite system the yacht has on board and, when inshore, heavy data usage such as streaming TV or uploading and downloading photos can be done using the aggregator, which is both faster and cheaper than using the satellite system.
So, if your guests arrive glued to their phones, make sure the galley is well stocked and you have enough bytes to feed their data hungry devices.
Superyacht Design Week
Back to me!
Superyacht Design Week was held last week at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, London and featured a “Domeless Design” Workshop. The workshop showcased the Kymeta flat panel antenna and highlighted how it will revolutionise the design of yachts in the future. Håkan Olsson from Kymeta was joined on the panel by Carl Novello from Panasonic, the 2013 Young Designer of the Year award winner Ben Julian Toth and myself.
We have been working with Kymeta since 2013 when we first recognised the potential of the antenna within the superyacht market. Our 20 years’ experience in the industry has taught us that superyacht owners are early adopters of new technology and the flat panel antenna will be no exception. We are working with Kymeta and Panasonic to launch the product commercially in 2017 and so develop the next generation of connectivity.
Over 40 delegates from the design community, shipyards and communications industry attended the workshop.
The following links to a video of myself, Håkan Olsson and Ben Toth being interviewed by Superyacht News. Take a look, and discover why #nodomes is trending in the superyacht design world.
Be prepared for new innovations on the e3 Stand at the Monaco Show by following #nodomes and, in the meantime, keep your yacht on-line and enjoy!
Roger Horner and Diane Franklin of e3 Systems
For further information on any of the above, please contact us.
email on info@e3s.com , Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and web www.e3s.com
Tel: +34 971 404 208
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