The 2024 Med summer season is upon us and e3 Systems have been super busy installing, fixing, advising and selling to our many customers. It is the first full season where Starlink will be the primary connectivity of the vast majority of superyachts, with boats evaluating it over the course of the Med 2023 season whilst keeping their backup options open with their incumbent systems. With the busy first full season of Starlink connectivity now under the belt, the frantic pace of installation continues unabated and we again expect a bumper year of demand, both for hardware and usage. Assisting our customers on how to best utilize their communications in the fast-changing technology world is the world that we live in!
What a difference a year makes
In May 2023, we became Authorised Starlink resellers, launching our service at the Palma International Boat show. Since then, we’ve been installing Starlink installations non-stop, with over 200 systems installed onto vessels of every description: motor yachts, sailing yachts, high performance cruisers, race boats and catamarans.
The desire to get the system on board seems to be undiminished in 2024, with ever more customers set to enjoy superfast internet at sea, at speeds way beyond what everyone thought was possible 18 months ago. Starlink services are continuously evolving, with new players now entering the market. Demand and competition between these players will hot up even more.
The new order
There has been a lot written about the LEO (Low Earth Orbit) revolution taking place in the satellite communications industry for maritime users. Starlink were first to market, quickly changing how everyone thinks about internet and connectivity at sea.
There is a flip side to this – in that we’ve had many customers returning across the pond who’ve lamented that where they have historically sailed away from Caribbean 4G connectivity to the wilderness of the Atlantic with the crew bonding within the confines of the vessel, that wilderness has diminished somewhat- many remaining buried in their phones or streaming in their cabins. You can’t win them all!
LEO had been a concept for a long time, but many could not see how it would be profitable. SpaceX changed all that when they brought in low-cost launches for operators and this of course also enabled them to create a vertically integrated company providing their own launch vehicles, satellites, and hardware. No other company currently has that ability. Indeed, Starlink have been so successful that they now have nearly 6000 satellites in space, a full 60% of all satellites currently active.
Superyacht Technology Show, Barcelona 2024
In March this year, e3 Systems were ‘Discovery’ sponsors, exhibitors and presenters at the Superyacht Technology Show in Barcelona. With exhibitor space having doubled since 2023, it was again a very well attended event with a wide range of new products and technology. Much of it was focused on IT, Cyber Audio Visual and entertainment related services, including a life size hologram booth.
However, the telling point was that almost all of what was on offer depended on high-speed, low latency and reliable bandwidth to make it work – further evidence of the opportunities that will continue to develop quickly and hand-in-hand with access to the commercially launched LEO platforms.
Today, we have Starlink to enable this, but in the coming months and years there will be more and more high-speed LEO networks arriving, all competing for the same market. Boats will have a huge amount of choice, but with choice will come decisions that have to be made.
The cliff edge
As we know, Starlink were the first to market and have so far provided a fantastic service with very few, if any service issues. However, ‘usable internet’ alternatives, as opposed to weather and safety connectivity, remain important as you may not want to rely on one service alone.
Recently there have not been any good backup options to Starlink. The cliff-edge drop from over 300Mbps internet speed down to an affordable VSAT speed of a few Megabits per second (although still remaining significantly more expensive than Starlink) has meant that vessels offshore and out of reach of 4G5G connectivity didn’t really have the ability to switch from one system to another without losing the performance.
What to choose?
New LEO services are arriving on the scene, which means yachts can now have an affordable offshore backup system that doesn’t compromise their user capabilities or requirements to the same degree.
Eutelsat OneWeb
You may well have heard of the OneWeb network, it has been mentioned a number of times in previous Islander articles – and it’s been around for a while in some form or other. Last year, they merged with satellite industry giant Eutelsat and have been completing their satellite launches and network configurations, now saying they are ready.
Eutelsat is already known for their wide range of GEO satellite services but as a result of the merger, can now offer the OneWeb LEO network, providing high speed internet in all the main yachting areas. Users will be able to get internet speeds of up to 200Mbps via a choice of flat or parabolic antennas. Our team of engineers at e3 Systems has successfully tested the service at sea, where it has worked well, both as either a primary service and as a backup to Starlink – effectively giving vessels two options for fast speeds and useable internet at good value offshore. Our advice to clients considering removing heavy VSAT domes, typically located on SY first spreaders or MY masts, is that Eutelsat OneWeb is now available, giving you the lowest cost and fastest backup up option with similar performance capability to the Starlink service.
Take up has already begun with newly launched yachts equipped with OneWeb flat panels. Yacht builders and integrators are including these panels into their new designs. Larger boats equipped with Starlink and retaining their VSAT options have also started looking at OneWeb as a way to further bolster their communications.
What’s on the horizon?
Kuiper Networks
Towards the end of 2025, we can expect the start of commercially offered services from the Amazon-owned Kuiper LEO network, that very much has Starlink’s customers in its sights. Details of the service are still sketchy but think even faster speeds (up to 1Gbps), Inter Satellite Links, small flat panel antennas and connectivity to the cloud via Amazon Web Services (AWS), in order to rival Starlink both on performance and price.
In 2026 yet more LEOs are aiming to launch services – such as Rivada Networks and Telesat’s Lightspeed. Like Kuiper, both of these networks (and by this time Starlink too) will offer Inter Satellite Links (ISL) meaning secure, point to point, superfast connections.
No compromises – Always on!
In the near future, vessels that equip themselves with more than one high-speed LEO network will have no compromises to their connectivity performance at sea. If you add in GSM/LTE services when in coastal range for inshore back-up, vessels will have access to superfast speeds in all locations, with complete redundancy on performance in the event of any outage on a particular network.
Hand in hand with this will be how the connectivity itself is managed onboard, Using the right connectivity management device and service, you will be able to manage your connections, get content directly from the country of choice and have low-cost pricing and consistent performance.
Needless to say, not all LEO networks give the same coverage. Starlink covers almost everywhere that Med-based vessels are likely to cruise, although service isn’t always approved, especially in some parts of the Middle East and Turkey for example. These gaps can be bridged by GSM/LTE services and other LEO networks that may have different landing rights to those countries.
So having a mix of services is going to be important and up until now, this just hasn’t been possible without making big compromises in the user experience you can offer on board.
Safety first!
It’s important that we do not forget the true “must have” technology for your vessel – primarily the ability to access weather and safety services that cover GMDSS requirements for emergencies at sea. Most yachts, as with commercial operators and many other seafarers, are required by law to have a GMDSS communications systems on board.
Services used are EPIRBS, SART, VHF radios and Inmarsat-C, as well as the new Iridium-based GMDSS service and the LT3100-S. Regulations often tighten up, so get in touch with us and we can give you an audit to ensure you are compliant before you go to sea.
Getting the most out of your Starlink and LEOs.
With all the different services, the ‘must haves’, and the ‘want to haves’, this all needs managing to get the best out of your system on board.
The high performance of these systems has also highlighted that some IT network on boats are no longer fit for purpose – or at least limit the full potential on board. There is little point in having 350Mbps internet speed from your Starlink if you are only getting 5Mbps in your cabin because of ageing switches and access points.
Tune up!
This can mean a tune-up of your current system is required; is the network cabling installed properly? Are the WIFI system and Access Points the latest technology? Are you able to configure – and understand – your network management device easily to incorporate the new speeds and possibilities?
All these factors are important to ensure you have a working system on board the vessel, as without this approach, much of your efforts to benefit from greater internet performance will have been in vain!
Wishing you a fantastic season ahead and please be in touch if there is anything we can do for you.
Stuart Castell – Managing Director / e3 Systems
Stuart.castell@e3s.com / +34 627 933 067
