Providing always-available maritime data connectivity 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, our Global Roaming Service - which uses maritime cellular communications - is all that’s needed to stay connected.

In this earlier blog we put forward our theory that for the most part, vessels spend time within sight of land during a voyage.  We’re testing this as part of a new project in which we are tracking the journeys of vessels to which we provide connectivity - and monitoring which of our cellular and satellite networks they connect to, when and for how long, and what the data capacity used is.  More news about this will follow in the next months.

The importance of knowing where vessels travel is simple: whilst they hug the coast then they can pick up the signals of onshore cellular networks to provide backhaul connectivity for data applications and services rather than using expensive satellite links. Under some conditions, cellular signals reach as far as 30km from the coast which means reducing dependency on satellite for data backhaul can be very cost-effective.

Telecom26’s “Near-to- Shore” Global SIM Service

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.

Our SIMs can be inserted into any GSM (2G, 3G, 4G and future 5G) router, which we can also supply, as required.

Most importantly, only a single SIM is required – there is no need to swap SIMs when moving between different regions and countries.

Our SIMs can access any terrestrial network. 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 moves along the coast, different networks may be available.

Because Near-to-Shore SIMs can connect to any of these, 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 different 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.

Our new paper - Nearshore Services - A short guide to nearshore cellular services will be available soon.

And, if you’d like to discuss how our maritime connectivity and maritime cellular communications services can help your fleet then please get in touch.