Telecom26 provides maritime connectivity to leisure yachts, fishing boats, cruise ships, tankers and cargo ships of all shapes, sizes and countries of origin.
A few years ago we discovered “Ninety Percent of Everything - Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate”. A terrific title and an even better read!
In a nutshell, author Rose George spent five weeks on a huge container ship travelling from Felixstowe port in the UK to Singapore living amongst and hearing the colourful stories of the crew. These stoic individuals really are the ultimate keyworkers transporting essential supplies around the world from food to oil, clothes to laptops - and everything in between.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 has not been kind to these heroes of the waves with The Economist writing about how in the past few months “almost none of the 1.2 million mariners who keep the world fed, warmed and entertained were allowed onshore”.
For those mariners with connectivity provided by Telecom26 the situation was brighter as at least they had reliable, and cost-effective communications to keep them online - and to keep their precious cargo safe and secure.
Telecom26 at Sea:
For years, satellite has been the mainstay for maritime connectivity. Fact is, however, that most ships and vessels spend the majority of their time in port or hugging the coast.
This means that it’s far more cost-effective to use existing cellular networks for both data and voice rather than satellite.
However, the major problem with the cellular at sea approach is that traditionally multiple SIMs have been required to ensure coverage throughout a vessel’s journey, especially when it is travelling cross-border.
With the specific goal of improving connectivity at sea - and in remote landlocked areas around the world, Telecom26 developed its Multi-IMSI global SIM cards which enable Global Roaming.
These enable one SIM to access multiple networks both in-country and across borders thus removing the need to worry about the coverage of a single MNO, or the existence of roaming alliances. Multiple-IMSI profiles are pre-loaded on every SIM allowing for simple reconfiguration if the primary network has poor or no service.
Our Multi-IMSI global SIMs automatically select the best performing network in the area, cross-border, while providing users with the freedom to change SIM profiles and services with ease.
Our new Nearshore Connectivity Service - the ultimate in maritime connectivity
We are delighted to announce that, thanks to the hard work of Telecom26’s R&D team, we have been able to cut the cost of nearshore maritime connectivity for boats and ships of all sizes.
With pay-as-you-go rates as low as €2 per GB, and data bundles of up to 2.5TB, our service is now even more affordable - and optimised for ships and offshore infrastructure.
In addition to full data service, the service can also include:
- Flexible SMS add-on bundles
- Full-service management portal with all-plan options
- VPN and Private APNs are available with all bundles on a monthly fee basis
- All bundles come with unlimited, free access to Telecom26’s management portal
- 12-month coverage protection options available to ensure service continuity without bill-shock
Telecom26 SIMs are compatible with 1100 cellular networks from over 620 mobile operators in more than 220 countries which means that wherever your sea legs take you, we’ll be connecting you all the way.
And don’t forget to put “Ninety Percent of Everything - Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry That Puts Clothes on Your Back, Gas in Your Car, and Food on Your Plate” on your summer reading list.
