The shipyards are all filling up rapidly as we enter the European 2025/’26 winter refit season with the usual buzz of activity.

A question that many yachts currently equipped with both Starlink and conventional VSAT hardware and related Airtime packages are asking themselves – and us – is often steered towards how much usage (and therefore value) was actually realised through the course of the past season in retaining the option to use this conventional hardware that has been on yachts in some form or another since e3 Systems fitted the first VSAT to a vessel back in 2004 – a Seatel 4003…

Even on the lowest level active plan – or as a Keep Alive back-up with above and below deck equipment remaining on board – the feedback that we are receiving from vessels is… not a great deal…

Currently alone amongst the available Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation alternatives to Starlink is OneWeb Eutelsat, using either Kymeta or Intellian hardware – and whilst not as inexpensive in either hardware or airtime, nor as fast, nor does it have a similarly developed satellite constellation, it remains – in all aspects – a much more comparable alternative to Starlink than any conventional VSAT will ever be going into the future.

OneWeb has another season under its belt – important in the decision-making process within a risk-averse industry such as ours – and what began as a trickle of enquiries last winter is now gathering pace, as so many yachts again consider whether this winter refit season is finally the time to remove their domes.

Neither is the removal of dome antennas limited to VSAT as IPTV options continue to develop hand-in-hand with fast and low-cost connectivity with IPTV not limited to geographical footprints. e3 Systems is the first company within our industry sector to offer Sky Stream as an authorised IPTV solution and with so many large sailing yachts still having both a VSAT and TVRO either side of the first spreader and motor yachts having heavy antennas high up on the mast or wing structures, removing both is a viable option typically taking hundreds of kilograms of weight and windage off the rig.

A key benefit is that both the smaller flat panel Intellian OW10 (dimensionally comparable to a V3 Starlink HP panel, if a little bulkier) and the larger OW11 can use a single existing VSAT or TVRO 50 or 75 OHM coaxial cable, negating the need to run new cables from a mast or a spreader to below decks, with mounting options making fast installations possible and relatively inexpensive. Airtime packages are calendar-monthly with similar data allowance packages available as with Starlink.

Chief among the differences between the smaller and larger Intellian options is that download speeds on the OW10 are MIR 50 Mbps and MIR 100 Mbps for the larger OW11 or the Kymeta Peregrine. Although Airtime is available as data-allowance packages and conventional VSAT was typically unlimited, this is still night and day from an equivalent download speed – either affordable or even possible – through most conventional VSAT installations.

Another further key benefit – as has been mentioned in these columns before – is that OneWeb enjoys connectivity in Turkey which remains Starlink-free, particularly relevant with the variables in 4G/5G connectivity around many parts of its convoluted coastline. Yachts with Turkey on their regular agenda need to put this option into their winter refit considerations.

Whilst covering the Mediterranean and Caribbean in their entirety, the gap in the coverage that has existed to date in the western Atlantic will also be filled by the end of 2025, with the Pacific expected to be covered completely within the next year.

Starlink Version 4

The new Starlink Maritime High-Performance panel, designated the V4, was launched in July 2025.

Dimensionally slightly different from the HP V3 with which most of us are by now familiar, the new slightly longer but narrower panel enjoys a higher IP rating at IP68 against IP56, improved connectors (both easier to run and with better waterproofing), a lower power consumption at 75-100W against 110-150W of the previous model and an increased cable length limit from the previous 25m to 50m.

In addition to this, Starlink hardware costs have decreased significantly since the Maritime panel was first launched three years ago at the Monaco Yacht Show.

e3 Systems continue to offer Starlink as a managed and technically supported connectivity stream within our suite of either individual or integrated services, having installed nearly 300 Starlink systems to date on vessels of every type – and offered alongside our other services across 4G5G, OneWeb, Inmarsat, Iridium, Sat and IPTV, IT networks and all the related hardware.

Almost all connectivity issues that occur on vessels are vessel-related rather than service-related and whilst Starlink can typically support their own service effectively, they are obviously unable to directly or remotely support any technical issues on the vessel itself, which is typically where any problem lies – and an area in which our Mallorca-based 24/7 Support Operations Centre excels.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more about OneWeb, the new Starlink V4 and Sky Stream IPTV options and in the meantime, our best wishes for a busy refit season.

Although it feels a little early to do so at the time of writing, we would also like to wish our many clients and the readers of The Islander a very Happy Christmas and New Year – Roll on 2026!