If you weren’t able to meet us in Monaco this year then remember we’ll also be showcasing our latest products and services at METS in Amsterdam and Fort Lauderdale – both in November. In the meantime here’s an overview on some of our services which will be of interest for those heading to the Caribbean this winter.
Upgrade your Fleetbroadband plan, save money and have more data!
Good news for those yachts with Inmarsat FleetBroadband and no Ku band VSAT, transiting the Atlantic on route to the Caribbean or USA; we can help you save 99% on data traffic by upgrading your FleetBroadband plan and therefore making it cost effective to use your FleetBroadband.
The standard minimum plan that most yachts use in the Med only includes 25MB of data and additional usage is charged at a huge $ 24.55/MB. We will review the plan the yacht has and recommend alternatives where the price per MB can be as little as $0.20. We can offer upgrade options between 100MB and 40GB. Upgrades and downgrades are free and are permitted for a minimum of 1 month.
As FleetBroadband L band service is the most reliable satellite service, you can also sail with peace of mind when cruising in the Caribbean in the knowledge you have a reliable communications service.
When in the Caribbean different islands have different cell phone services ranging from CDMA, GSM, GPRS to HSPA+ and LTE – but no 4G. As the islands are strung out switching from cell to satellite and back is the nature of the game and will require the yacht to use satellite more often. This is where our HYBRID solution comes into its own, switching between cell and satellite as required.
BIG DATA for BIG SAVINGS
Our hugely popular BIG DATA family of roaming free 4G services has been tailor-made to meet the high demand for data from large yachts. BIG DATA offers flexibility, with no minimum commitment period and no allocated GB allowance – you simply pay for what you use. And you pay less per GB, the more you use.
You can alternate between them, using only the SIM required and hence only paying for the service in use. Multiple SIMs can be bundled together to dip into one data pool. The convenience of the BIG DATA SIM card service is that it uses a single SIM card with a single APN and it covers most of the popular cruising destinations. It is blocked for areas that are not covered by the roaming agreement, thus safeguarding you from bill shock.
With the convenient ‘my e3’ portal you can view details of all the services you have contracted with us including BIG DATA where you can check daily usage and set up email alerts to warn you of your current usage so you remain in control at all times.
Enhanced 2019 BIG DATA CARIBBEAN
Our BIG DATA Caribbean service is now even better for the coming winter season. In addition to some of the best prices in the region, you can keep a constant check on usage through ‘my e3’. It can also be remotely extended outside the Caribbean on request still using the same APN. And remember, if you are cruising around any of the French Caribbean Islands our BIG DATA Europe SIM will also work at BIG DATA Europe rates.
TV options for the Caribbean
We can offer both TVRO and IPTV TV services for the Caribbean this coming winter season. TVRO can only be used in the footprint of the relevant satellite and requires a stabilized antenna, a signal distribution system and decoders for the relevant programming.
TVRO services in the Caribbean and USA are delivered by DirectTV Caribbean, DirecTV USA and DishTV.
For the DirecTV Caribbean service we have 6 month services with a Basic package and various add-on premium packages.
The DirecTV USA package overlaps with the Caribbean service over Cuba and is needed for the Bahamas and the whole of the USA. There are plenty of services available with options for New York or Florida local channels.
Our new DISHTV service has a larger, but similar footprint to DirecTV, a six month service, more channels and has recently signed broadcasting rights for NFL.
IPTV however, will work wherever you have a good internet connection, so it’s not regional but it’s also not quite global. Channels can be watched in real time using our e3 IPTV service, as it has a time zone catch-up option which will synchronize TV services to your current time zone. IPTV can be powered by our BIG DATA SIMs which offer extremely cost-effective 4G data. It can also be powered by satellite. We have a number of IPTV and connection options, so contact us for details. One of our clients told us they watched a 6 Nations Rugby match, mid Atlantic, using their Inmarsat FX satellite service.
Our Speedcast VSAT service was welcomed during Hurricane Dorian
Early in September Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas. With sustained winds of 185 mph it was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the region. This tragedy left many dead and thousands homeless – devastation that will take years to recover from.
The yacht industry has been quick to lend its support wherever it can. We were asked by Yacht Aid Global (YAG) if we could provide enhanced bandwidth to help with the first responder yacht, M/Y Loon. Together with Speedcast we actioned this request within hours and are both very pleased to have been able to help with the disaster response in the best way we could.
Captain Paul Clarke and his crew worked for 7 days tirelessly helping the islanders with supplies and medical assistance. They were amongst the first to send vital data, using their VSAT, to the Bahamas NEMA (National Emergency Management Agency) to support them in response decision-making. We are told our connectivity worked very well for them. Loon has a conventional antenna backed up by a flat panel antenna.
What a fantastic job Captain Paul and his crew have done and what an organisation Captain Mark Drewelow, founder of YAG, has created. YAG needs your support to continue its good work, so please donate using this link: http://yachtaidglobal.org/campaigns/hurricane-dorian-relief-for-north-bahamas
Roger Horner – e3 systems
+34 971 404 208
0 Comments