Remote marine telecom: boat-based communications.

• Author: Swagel, Will
• Position: TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY

Ocean Mayo is a second-generation longliner whose family has fished for halibut and black cod in the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea for decades. Their fifty-eight-foot vessel, the Coral Lee, is homeported in Sitka, as is the large Mayo clan. When the Coral Lee is far out at sea beyond the range of cell phones and even VHF radio, Ocean Mayo relies on satellite phones to stay in touch.

Mayo says there is another black cod fisherman who works the same areas in the Bering Sea as Mayo, and the other fisherman uses baited pots to catch the prized groundfish. If Mayo sets his longlines where the pots have been deployed, his expensive gear might get entangled and could be lost. So the longliner and the pot fisherman coordinate by satellite phone to avoid doing just that.

Mayo employs satellite phones to communicate with processors to determine who will pay the most for his latest catch. He can also talk with other vessels so they can make reports and plan strategy on a secure channel that can't be overheard by other boats. And he can call home for both business and personal reasons.

Avoiding tangled gear, finding fish, and getting the best price at the processor--these are all reasons why Mayo is happy he made the investment.

"The satellite phones pay for themselves," he says. "Even with high startup costs, they pay for themselves in a few years."

Although satellite phones have a reputation for expensive hardware and ruinous per-minute rates, the situation-- like other segments of the electronics industry--is evolving rapidly, says Harold Whittlesy of Satellite Technical Services, which serves the Alaska fleet from offices in Anchorage and Seattle.

"More and more of the fleet is converting to satellite-based communication equipment for reliability," says Whittlesy. "As the volumes continue to build, the price point continues to come down. Today, people are able to enjoy the benefits of satellite communication for as little as $300."

Whittlesy is referring to a DeLorme inReach, a new portable satellite device that allows mariners (and those on land or in the air) to text anyone in the world inexpensively, to get maps and charts, and to issue enhanced distress calls.

Alaska Net

The system on Mayo's boat (and on about one hundred vessels in Sitka's busy harbors) is known as MSAT, for Mobile Satellite, a technology developed in Canada that has been in use for about twenty years. MSAT has become very common on medium-sized and even some smaller...