Rex wrote, "Those of us to did not attend Melbourne are all waiting to hear
about your presentation on Internet Access. How did it go?"

Well, I think it went well, although I'm probably biased. Maybe you should
ask those who attended?

Judging from the questions, I'd say that the vast majority of the interest
was in access through cell phones.

I promise to have the presentation up on our web page in a day or two. If
you can't wait, I can email it in PowerPoint, but it is 1.89 MB.

The good news is the Digital Antenna Cellular amplifier and external antenna
www.digitalantenna.com has received approval from the FCC (3 Watts analog
and 2 Watts digital). They can be purchased at www.boatantenna.com. I called
Digital Antenna before I left. Their system amplifies both the transmits and
receive signals I'm not sure how effective this is, but most handsets are
transmit limited). The transmit signal is amplified up to the FCC limit,
which is generally 5 times the power of your handset. They also reduce power
at short range to avoid over powering the tower. They claim that they can
provide 50 to 70 mi range over water. They said the 50 mi range was for a
10' antenna height above water and the 8' antenna. I believe the Digital
Antenna "Booster" is the modern equivalent of the bag phone, but it works
with your existing phone and it works for both digital and analog coverage.

The bad news. I called MotoSat and they said that they do not expect to get
approval for two-way satellite service on moving platforms (boats) in the
foreseeable future. This is bad news for those waiting for affordable
Broadband service. This means the only option is the KVH TracNet service
which uses satellite for the downlink and landline, cell phone or satellite
phone for the uplink.

Cheers;
Mike Schooley
Designing "Portager" a 36' trailerable trawler

Bob wrote, "Did you look at the Inmarsat fleet77 system? It's satellite both
ways with ISDN capability at 64kbps."

Yes, but I said affordable. Most people on the list don't consider it
affordable both due to the usage cost and the installation cost as evidenced
by the fact that it has been around a long time but not used on any Trawlers
I know of. For a business it may be affordable, but for cruisers is isn't.

MotoSat would have provided unlimited usage for $89/mo, 500 MB/sec down and
70 KB/sec up. TracNet is $79/mo for unlimited usage and 400 MB/sec down.

Cheers;
Mike Schooley
Designing "Portager" a 36' trailerable trawler

Clarence Bell wrote, "Look at www.expressvu.com.  Bell Canada the largest
Canadian Carrier has an Internet service over their satellite TV system.  It
also is a Satellite download and phone line up load system.  The prices look
very attractive. It sits on a Canadian satellite and I have asked them what
the footprint of the bird is.  I will post the response when I receive it."

Hughes DirectPC aka DIRECTWAY (http://www.direcpc.com/index1.html), MotoSat
(http://www.motosat.com), KVH TracNet
(http://www.kvh.com/products/product.asp?id=57) and StarBand
(http://www.starband.com) all use the Bell ExpressVu Satellite.

KVH provides good coverage maps at but I also like this one
http://hobby.nu/images/nimiq1.gif because it shows more dish sizes and is
independent.

The problem is the Satellite uplink. Since this is a transmitter the FCC has
control over it (in the US). The FCC has not approved any mobile
transmitters for the unlink. The closest thing is MotoSat which expects to
get approval within a month for fixed mobile service.

If you look at the frequently asked questions (FAQ) pages of each system you
will see what I mean.

StarBand FAQ http://www.starband.com/faq/starbandfacts.htm, "StarBand is NOT
currently right for... <snip> Mobile installation applications (e.g. RVs)"

MotoSat FAQ http://www.motosat.com/internetfaq_001.htm, "QUESTION: Can I be
traveling down the road and be online at the same time?
ANSWER: No. You must be parked. In-Motion 2-Way satellite transmission will
not be approved for many years to come. But we find that this is not a major
problem with many who are seeking Internet Connectivity in a mobile
environment."

I have also phoned most of these companies and verified that the two way
satellite service can not be used from a moving or even rocking platform.

Cheers;
Mike Schooley
Designing "Portager" a 36' trailerable trawler