Our team of maritime connectivity experts were interested to read this recent article about global shipping in The Economist which says that global “supply chains have returned to normal” following the disruptions caused by COVID and the grounding of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal as evidenced by the fact that
“on January 9th 2022, 109 container ships sat off the coast of California waiting for their turn to unload at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. One year later there are almost none”.
The spending boom created by people buying consumer goods during COVID has also ended which means that shipping volumes have fallen:
“The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together handled 566,522 loaded inbound containers in November 2022, down by 26% from the previous year”.
Meanwhile, the costs of shipping containers have now fallen back to pre-COVID levels which is good news for consumers as “The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates that 40% of inflation between 2019 and 2021 was caused by supply shocks”. Although another piece in The Economist warns that “goods account for only a third of consumer spending; services account for two-thirds” and “a shortage of personnel, such as dockers, truckers and warehouse workers, means the cost of labour in the supply chain remains high”.
Telecom26 provides maritime connectivity solutions to ports and shipping companies around the world to improve the communications which help monitor and track containers as they make their way around the world – on-water, in-port and in-land.
Smart containers, maritime connectivity and Telecom26
The continued rollout of smart containers will be key to improving the processes within the global supply chain.
This report gives a good definition of Smart Containers that are “equipped with IoT, GPS tracking, and sensors that are used for logistics & freight. These containers are developed to regulate internal temperature, enhance the security of goods stored in containers, and keep a track of real-time location via GPS” with “additional sensors connected to them for keeping regular track of real time information. The data collected through these sensors may result in optimizing the supply chain”.
Key to the success of Smart Containers is IoT which allows the information about the container and its contents gathered by sensors to be transmitted to both the crew - and remotely to the shipping line and owners of the container’s contents.
And for IoT in shipping to be effective, fast and always-on maritime connectivity which enables information sharing in real-time is necessary.
Telecom26’s global connectivity service
We are a maritime mobile operator and providing always-available voice and data connectivity including IoT for vessels of all shapes and sizes is one of Telecom26’s core services.
Whether it’s a ship travelling from China to Europe laden with containers, or a sunny Sunday on a yacht, Telecom26’s connectivity is all that’s needed to stay connected.
The size of the vehicles, their cargo and the number of seafarers might be widely different but they have a few things in common. They are tired of exorbitant roaming charges. Tired of having to change SIMs or switch phones when they cross borders. Tired of patchy service. Tired of multiple bills from different providers.
Our Global SIMs provide a very simple way to provide data to all onboard devices via cellular data links. By onboard devices we mean Wi-Fi routers, container sensors, IoT networks and any system process that needs to connect to the internet, to a remote server or monitor.
Catching-up in-person
We will be at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 27 February – 2 March and will be launching several new services and discussing lots of other global and maritime connectivity subjects including:
- Our growing global network of 5G partners
- Our eSIM packages – Telecom26 provides a complete range of eSIM and eUICC solutions that enable seamless profile delivery and management and remove the need to ship and deploy physical SIMs
If you’d like to arrange to meet there then please book a meeting.
Or if you’d like a call to discuss how our maritime connectivity and maritime cellular communications services can connect the people and devices on-board your vessels as they travel around the world then please get in touch.
