Roger Horner is the founder and CEO of e3 Systems since 1996. He has been a contributor for The Islander Magazine since 1997.
Our US Director, Sharon Phillips, was honoured to be with the Viasat Inc. team at Kennedy Space Center on the evening of Friday 28th April, to watch the Viasat 3 launch. She was 3.9 miles away from the launch pad and spent the evening mixing with the satellite engineers who created the Viasat3 rocket. It was all systems GO…..until the last 59 seconds when the computers shut everything down due to a minor glitch, and the launch was aborted.
Despite the launch being scrubbed on the Friday night, it did successfully launch into orbit on the Sunday night. This made it the most powerful satellite ever built at 20KW per satellite, and the heaviest they have ever launched, being 6 metric tons for each satellite. That’s the same weight as an African elephant!
However, Sharon did see one rocket go up, and that was Falcon 9 -another SpaceX rocket- which was half the size of the Falcon Heavy, but was still spectacular and very exciting!
If you are interested in a Starlink system, please reserve one before we run out as Starlink is experiencing hyper growth, adding over 3,600 new customers per day! Their total number of customers now stands at 1.5 million, according to SpaceX!
Cycling Success
Our 5th e3 Systems Cycling Challenge from Puerto Soller to Mirador Sa Foradada on Friday 21st April was a blast! Our cyclists were very generous and contributed another significant donation to Yachting Gives Back, our favourite charity here in Mallorca. I would like to thank our supporting partners Speedcast, Swisspath Yachting and Intellian, who help us to make these events free to enter so every cent donated goes to the charity.
An exciting start to the Boat Show season!
The Palma International Boat Show (PIBS), incorporating the Superyacht Village, was a very successful event in 2022, so we were delighted to be exhibiting again this year. Another great year with blue sky, sunshine, only ten minutes of rain, and plenty of visitors. For those of you that missed Ben, our in-house magician, you missed a treat!
The MYBA Show in Barcelona was slimmed down and quiet again – this year because it overlapped with PIBS on the first day, which was unnecessary. I hear the MYBA Show will be moving location in 2025.
The day before PIBS, we were thrilled to receive confirmation that e3 Systems had been appointed as an Authorised Reseller for Starlink, which meant some quick overnight additions to the signage on our booth!
e3 Systems appointed as Authorised Starlink Reseller specialising in yachts.
As the leading independent communications integrator for yachts, we have become an Authorised Starlink Reseller. This means that Starlink has now become local to yachting in more ways than one. Firstly, we stock Starlink systems in the locations where yachts work in the Mediterranean and Florida, so delivery costs, time and import issues are reduced. We can deliver the same day to yachts in Palma or Fort Lauderdale. We are the only independent Starlink-Authorised Reseller with a wealth of experience in yachting and data communications that is second to none, which is why thousands of yachts rely on e3 today for its expertise.
We configured and installed our first Starlink Maritime system in July 2022, as reported in my column here in September 2022. Having since helped many other yachts in the Med and USA, as with our other systems, we have developed a knowledge bank of good practices.
We stock the fully featured Starlink Maritime high-power, flat panel systems that offer up to 350Mbps down connectivity using any of the 5TB, 1TB and 50GB plans. An overage charge is going to be applied by Starlink for every GB used from 1st June. Starlink is calling this its ‘Fair-Use Policy’.
This means that users will be charged at the rate per gigabyte for data consumed over and above the plan they are signed up to. Overage management is provided by e3 for new and existing Starlink users, as it is for our existing 4/5G users. Users will also receive alert warnings by email when getting close to the overage charge kicking in. They will not get alert warnings directly from Starlink.
We also include 24/7 authorised Starlink service support and we have a dedicated back door to Starlink for fast response to support requests. This is combined and included in our 24/7 Active Support Agreement (ASA) provided by our Support Operations Centre (SOC).
We provide installation and integration support to make sure your IT and network can handle the new faster data speeds. Several yachts have installed Starlink systems themselves. However, it is important to understand the issues, such as cable length limitations between the panel and the power supply. Positioning of panels to avoid signal shadows and other equipment such as radars is also very important. Starlink will void the warranty and support if the cable is cut and rejoined, as well as if the panel is installed in an old dome. We will provide guidance for a DIY installation or a temporary installation through to a full yacht survey, leading to a full professional installation.
Our integration support helps with the connection to the vessel’s IT and network. Several yachts that have installed Starlink only have old Wi-Fi access points that will only handle 40Mbps. Not much point in having a 350Mbps service if all you can use is 40Mbps! We will survey the vessel and report on what is required.
There is no obligation to take other airtime services from us, but we do provide a flexible and optional range of Starlink Companion and Enhancement services, including VSAT by the day, and a 4G/5G Pay As You Go that can be used in areas where Starlink and L-band GMDSS (which cannot be provided by Starlink) don’t work.
Our Enhancement services include Data Management and Monitoring, a unique Active Support service monitoring the health of every device on board, a 24/7 Cyber Security Incident Response service, our Client Portal to view data consumed and to set up an overage alert plan, and many other yacht related services, including TV and IPTV.
As part of the Starlink Fair-Use Policy, they have changed names and definitions relating to data prioritisation:
- Standard data is for fixed household use.
- Priority data is for fixed business and high-demand users.
- Mobile data is for recreational vehicles, campers, and customers needing portable land-based uses, and excludes in-motion and ocean use.
- Mobile Priority data is for maritime, mobile business and in-motion cases, and includes land, ocean and in-motion uses.
Priority and Mobile Priority data is given network precedence over Standard and Mobile data, meaning users will experience faster and more consistent download and upload speeds.
Services will no longer be throttled to 1 Mbps download and upload after the allocated data has been consumed under the Mobile Priority Service Plan. Instead, to avoid being stranded at sea with no access, users will be opted in to be charged for overage by default unless the user tells their reseller to opt them out.
Invitation to Kennedy Space Center to watch the Viasat-3 launch.
