Starlink, Telecom26 and maritime connectivity

Our maritime connectivity team recently received an urgent ‘Please Help Me’ call from a global shipping company that had switched to Starlink for all its global connectivity and then realised that the service doesn’t provide connectivity in some areas - most notably around China and Taiwan.

We admire Starlink’s’s entrepreneurial spirit and ambitions but we do make sure that our customers and prospects know its limitations as outlined last month in this piece Starlink Disadvantages: 8 Downsides To Be Aware Of.

The downsides identified are:

1.     Decreasing Speed

2.     Poor Customer Service

3.     Data Caps

4.     No Installation Help

5.     Affected By Weather

6.     Needs Clear View

7.     Possible Environmental Effects – “Starlink’s thousands of satellites can obstruct the views of telescopes that astronomers use and lead to visible streaks on the imagery they take. In fact, some of its satellites are even visible with just your bare eyes. Clear visibility of the night sky isn’t just important for scientific purposes but also to spot threatening objects, such as asteroids, early on”

8.     Consistent Changes – “constant price and policy changes” and removal of the portability option

Telecom26’s maritime connectivity team is sure that, over time, Starlink will resolve these issues. In the meantime, we offer our maritime, and land-based, customers access to more than 1100 network connections and 650 mobile operators across over 200 countries to secure unrivalled global coverage. This means that our customers aren’t reliant on the connectivity of one provider. Their relationship is with one provider i.e. Telecom26 but our network is multi-provider including 4G and 5G which can fill the gaps in satellite service.

Nearshore connectivity – perfect for vessels up to 30km off the coast

As you can see from the image of some of our maritime connectivity customers at the top of the page, most ships and vessels spend the majority (up to 60%) of their time in port or in coastal waters. They are therefore within range of land-based cellular networks which can provide coverage to vessels as far out as 30km. So, instead of relying only on satellite for data or connectivity, vessels – and the people and devices on-board - can use these cellular networks.

Because our nearshore connectivity SIMs can connect to any of these nearshore connectivity networks, coverage can be maintained. This applies as vessels cross international borders. So, as a container ship travels across Asia or a yacht moves from one Caribbean island to another, devices and routers can hop between cellular networks with ease – and will benefit from the bundle pricing we offer. This means there’s no need to worry about the hidden costs of global roaming.

You can read more about our Near To Shore service here. And a previous blog is here: “Nearshore Connectivity - perfect for vessels up to 30km off the coast” 

Maritime connectivity - and Telecom26

Telecom26 operates as both a maritime MNO and a full global MVNO for terrestrial coverage.

As a global operator, Telecom26 has a wide range of global and maritime connectivity solutions for vehicles and vessels of all shapes and sizes, commercial and leisure - and the people and containers that they are transporting.

As well as nearshore maritime connectivity, our maritime connectivity services include:

• A full Cellular At Sea service for vessels of all sizes

• Networks for personal communications, onboard. You can read more about this here: Mobile Private Networks for Cruise Ships and the Merchant Navy

• A Maritime IoT Service including private networks on-board vessels, oil rigs and platforms – and supply chain tracking

Our global and maritime connectivity services offer:

• Our own network core and operational assets leveraging relationships with more than 1100 network connections and 650 mobile operators across over 200 countries to secure unrivalled global coverage.

• A full range of telecom services and connectivity options including 5G (where available), LTE-M, WiFi, private networks, 2G, 3G and 4G, as well as satellite and offshore connectivity capabilities.

At the heart of our maritime connectivity and global connectivity services are our Global eSIM and physical SIM cards.  These provide data to all onboard devices via cellular data links.  By onboard devices we mean Wi-Fi routers, container sensors, IoT networks, any system process that needs to connect to the internet, to a remote server or monitor – as well as the phones and devices of the crew and people on-board.

Our Global eSIM and physical SIMs can access most terrestrial and maritime networks. Not all networks are equally available – some offer better coverage in some locations than others. And, every country has its own range of terrestrial network operators. This means that, as a vessel is on its journey, different networks may be available.

Our global connectivity and maritime connectivity experts have also written a number of interesting blogs over the past few months including:

• Our maritime connectivity service keeps vessels - and the people and devices onboard online - as they travel around the world
• Cargo ships, smart containers and the need for fast and reliable maritime connectivity
• Maritime connectivity for freight on rivers and canals - and inland ports
• IoT connectivity for freight on-land and at sea
• Innovation in the container shipping industry: wind power and maritime connectivity

Later in the year will be announcing new partnerships with various satellite connectivity providers.

We are also in discussions with providers of GSM connectivity over Low Earth Orbit to fill in coverage gaps both on land and at sea offering an alternative to other very expensive satellite networks.

In addition, the expansion of Telecom26’s 5G capabilities will help improve them maritime connectivity of the people and devices on-board vessels of all sizes.

Catching up with our global connectivity and maritime connectivity teams

If you’d like to arrange to a call to discuss how our maritime connectivity and global connectivity services can connect the people and devices on-board your vessels as they travel around the world then please book a meeting.

We will be attending:

• The GSMA’s Wholesale Agreements and Solutions Group (WAS) meeting in Croatia, October 16-19. You can read more about this here.

• Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona Feb 26-29

So again please get in touch if you’re going to these shows and would like to meet-up.

Alternatively, we are always available for a call or enquiries.