Those of you who know e3 Systems will know that we get very excited about technology!
Well, April 29th 2003 was an exciting day for us as we were invited to Inmarsat´s head office in London to witness the launch of their two new satcom services, Fleet F55 and Fleet F33.
Why all the excitement? Well, the Inmarsat Fleet F55 and Fleet F33 are the first of a new generation of small, high speed, lighter, low cost satellite communication (satcom) terminals, which could revolutionise ship-to-shore communications.
Inmarsat was the world´s first global mobile satellite communications operator.
Formed over 20 years ago, Inmarsat owns the satellites that make communications via Satcom C, M, Mini M, A, B and F77 possible. Their satellite network supports links for phone, fax and data communications to more than 250,000 ship, vehicle, aircraft and portable satellite terminals throughout the world.
Traditionally, if a yacht wanted high-speed data access whilst offshore, they had to install an Inmarsat B Satcom Terminal, which has a 1-meter diameter antenna sitting inside a 1.2 metre diameter dome. The size and cost of this antenna meant only large yachts could afford to install them. The introduction of Inmarsat’s Fleet F77 service last year changed this. The Fleet F77 has a smaller (77cm) antenna, is lighter and costs less than the satcom B. Consequently, many yachts started to fit the F77 in preference to the Satcom B and to replace older Satcom As. Although the F77 was smaller than the A and B terminals it was still a relatively large antenna and cost in the region of 24,000 Euros.
Now, the introduction of Inmarsat’s new Fleet F55 and F33 service means that many more smaller yachts can have access to high-speed data whilst offshore.
Inmarsat Fleet F55:
The new Inmarsat Fleet F55 service provides voice, fax and data connectivity. The voice has near global coverage, whilst fax and data services are ´spot beam´ (not global but covers most major sea/land areas). Two data services are available, namely ISDN, and MPDS. ISDN is a 64kbps dial up connection, whereby you pay for the length of time you are connected. MPDS stands for Mobile Packet Data Service, which means you pay for the data you send and receive, not the length of time you are connected. The speed of connection is variable.
The antenna weighs around 18Kg and has a diameter of about 57cms, and the ´below decks units´ is about the size of a shoebox. The retail price of the F55 is around 16,000 Euros. The F55 is not GMDSS compliant.
Inmarsat Fleet F33:
The new Inmarsat Fleet F33 service provides global voice connectivity, and ´spot beam´ fax and data connectivity. The data rate is 9.6kbps. Although 9.6kbps is not fast, Inmarsat are able to compress the data to give an effective 38.4kbit/s connection. MPDS is not currently available but Inmarsat expect to bring this service to the Fleet F33 at the end of this year.
The antenna weighs about 8kg and has a diameter of 40cm. Again, the below decks unit is about the size of a shoebox. The retail price of the F33 is around Euros 9,000. The F33 is not GMDSS compliant.
Seeing is believing:
At e3 we do like to see things working before we believe all the manufacturer’s claims and, at the product launch in London, we were able to do just that.
Firstly we were given a demonstration of the Fleet F55. The F55 will be installed onboard all the yachts in the 2005 Volvo Ocean Race. The teams are already out training and we were able to do a live video-conference call to one of the yachts. So, there we were sitting in a plush London office having a video-conference call with a racing yacht crew live in the Baltic Sea. What’s more, the crew were experiencing some atrocious weather. The yacht was pitching and rolling to such an extent that the crew were getting thrown around, and could hardly stay in view of the onboard camera. The noise of the wind and sea was making it difficult for the crew to be heard, and finally the captain had to go below decks with the camera to continue the conversation.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, the quality of the video image and audio was very good. The call to the yacht and back via the satellite covered a total of 36,000 miles and the time delay in the video and audio was less than a second - quite remarkable!
Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, was there with us, and he’s very excited about this new product. With the antennas weighing so little and taking up such a small space they can install two systems onboard (one for backup). Each syndicate will have a crewmember onboard who will be responsible for recording each day’s events with video and audio footage and sending them back to the race HQ. At the HQ, these transmissions will be edited and sent out for broadcasting on the various TV networks. Glenn wants to bring the Volvo Ocean Race into people’s living rooms, and he’s relying on the Fleet F55 to do this.
Next, we were given a demonstration of the Fleet F33 and for this we linked live to a much more sedate scene of a container ship sitting in port somewhere in Holland. The Fleet F33 transmits and receives data at 9.6kbps, although the compression speeds this up to around 38.4kbps. At this speed we were able to watch live video images. The quality of the video was the same as the F55 but we didn’t have any audio. The point of this demonstration was to show that the data rate is fast with the compression - fast enough to watch live video.
So what do we think of the F33 and F55?
Overall, we were impressed with what we saw. Smaller antennas and faster data rates make for a good product. The size of the antennas and the lower equipment costs mean smaller yachts can now have access to high-speed data whilst offshore. There’s nothing new in the data speed. 64kbps nowadays is not very fast, but it is fast enough for most users. The clever bit is making the antennas small and lightweight.
We expect the F55 to be ideal for the 60-foot plus motor and sailing yachts, whereas the F33 should be attractive for the smaller sailing yachts that intend to cruise offshore but still want internet access and email at a reasonable speed.
Inmarsat Services Overview:
Service: Mini-M: Fleet 33: Fleet 55: Fleet F77:
Voice Coverage: Spot Global Global Global
Data Coverage*: Spot Spot Spot Global
Fax Speed 2.4 kbps 9.6 kbps 9.6/64 kbps 9.6/64 kbps
Data speed 2.4 kbps 9.6 kbps 64k /ISDN 64k/ISDN
MPDS No 2004 Yes Yes
GMDSS No No No Yes
* Data coverage includes the coverage of fax, data, ISDN and MPDS services.
If you would like further information on any of the above products mentioned in this article, or any of e3 services please contact Jason Abbott or Erik Nieuwmeijer at e3 Systems (Palma) on TEL: +34 971 404208 FAX: +34 971 404431 or email info@e3s.com