Internet Access For Yachts (Part 1, Wi-Fi and Cell Phone)

Some recreational boaters want Internet access on their boat in order to obtain information from websites, send/receive email, etc. While maritime Internet service will never be as fast, trouble-free, or inexpensive as home service, it is improving rapidly.^1.

Other than Ham Radio (which requires a General-Class Amateur license), there are four principal ways to connect an onboard computer to the Internet: Wi-Fi, cell phone, communication satellite, and marine SSB radio. Let's start with Wi-Fi and cell phones. These two, while not designed expressly for coastal boaters, can be used where available. Satellites and SSB are designed for offshore cruisers, and require a ship station license. These will be described in Part 2, next month.

Wi-Fi has become a popular, although undependable, way to get online at marinas and anchorages, as well as at coffee houses and other public locations. Contrary to popular belief, "Wi-Fi" is just a buzz-word, not an abbreviation for "wireless fidelity." Wi-Fi connects mobile computers to shoreside access points called "hot spots." These are set up ashore both by commercial services, which charge a fee, and by organizations or individuals willing to share their Internet connection. Hot spots have wireless interfaces, which require only an enabled laptop computer (or PDA). They operate on carrier frequencies of 2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz. Some can handle up to 100 simultaneous connections at 1-11 megabits/sec (Mbps). Directories are available for finding hot spots.

While a laptop computer with a wireless card might be adequate within a city block of the hot spot, you can greatly improve performance, especially in an anchorage, by adding a small radio and/or high-gain antenna. For example, RadioLabs now offers a 100 mw radio packaged with an 8 dbi omnidirectional antenna. This can transmit to a hot spot over a line-of-sight of up to one mile, which is about 15 times the range of an ordinary laptop wireless card.^2. Other systems are available. Cost is $400-600.

Although cell phone data service is not as fast as Wi-Fi, it can be used where Wi-Fi is not available, up to 20 miles offshore. High-speed third-generation (3G) networks and unlimited rate plans make cellular data a compelling companion to Wi-Fi for wide-area access.³ Most carriers can now handle 600 kbps -1.4 Mbps (DSL speed).

There are two ways to connect your laptop to a cell data network: cell data modem card and smartphone. Heavy data users who need the fastest possible connections can use a cell data modem card that is either built into the laptop or plugs into a PC Card slot. Most of these don't allow voice calls. Those who have only occasional data needs at slower speeds can use a data–capable cell phone (smartphone) tethered to the laptop by USB connection or wirelessly via Bluetooth. A smartphone can be used for both voice and data, but only the high-end devices operate as fast as the cell network can.

^1.Ben Ellison, "Onboard and Online", Offshore, Sept. 2007, p. 20
^2.RadioLabs, Inc. website: www.radiolabs.com
^3.Jiwire website: www.jiwire.com/cellular