Internet Access Options for Sailors

I wonder if the technology is good enough at the moment to work from the Catamaran. My biggest concern is whether or not the speed is fast enough and offered at a reasonable price. I work from home more then 3 days a week. I could work 5 days if I want. It wouldn’t make a difference. Most of the people I work with are from other states or countries. I would need a fast and reliable internet connection from the boat. If I am parked at home there is no problem. Just run a phone line or cable for internet access and power as well to the dock. But what if I wanted to take off and park it somewhere. Could I still work from the boat?

Mobilsat is advertising the SeaTel product with 768kbps download and 128 upload. I am not sure this is fast enough to get by. This is apparently there least expensive offer. They charge 309.00 per month for the service.

KVH offers a product that deserves some research. $2,395.00 to start, but only 89.99 a month and that includes MSN TV. They do say there may be other fees imposed by the cellular service provider. They also claim high-speed data connections provided by EVDO service with upload/download speeds ranging from 400-700 Kbps and capable of reaching up to 2 Mbps. Need to check your city as this is only reported to be available in 180 cities and counting.
KVH also has a Satellite TV, Internet and VOIP Phone option as well. Data rates as fast as 512 Kbps for ship-to-shore transmissions and as fast as 2 Mbps for shore-to-ship downloads as well as crystal-clear VOIP telephone service. Pricing was not available on their web site. I wonder how reliable the satellite connection is while in motion.

Some of them charge by the bit or minute used. This wouldn’t work for me unless I had no plans to work from the boat. Having to pay as you go is never fun. It feels like when you go over your minutes on your cell phone. You have to pay for every minute. It adds up and some people cut back as a result. I don’t want to feel like I have to cut back. I would be downloading a lot of data for my job.

What about power consumption? The KVH TracPhone FB250 claims the following. Power (max), incl. antenna: 150 W @ 10-32V. The laptop doesn’t take much energy. I am sure there is a Receiver and perhaps a wireless router that you need to consider. Add it all up and you might have to run the generator before long. If I have to run my generator the whole time then I am not sure I will be doing this very often. Some of these systems are going to require 50 to 100lbs of equipment.

I would hope that there are some other options and will continue to keep an eye out. It would be great if you had Internet access, TV and a phone along with all the other amenities. Why would you ever go home? There would be no excuse not to go sailing. I have a feeling you would soon find many other things to do other then watching TV. This is just another selling point or excuse to go big when buying a sailing Catamaran.