Mini-M, Maxi-Savings

Back in the good 'ol days of telephone, you had very few choices in service. It was your local phone company and Ma Bell, and that was about it. Today, you don't answer the phone at dinnertime anymore because AT&T, MCI, or Sprint will be on the other end, begging for your business. Worse still, your local phone company is now getting into the long-distance act. And the bills? I get three each month, and some have bills-within-a-bill for the other guy's services!

As bad as it is for landlines today, it pales in comparison to the satellite communications (satcom) arena. New low-earth-orbit (LEO) satcom services are being launched almost daily, and going forward we'll have to get familiar with terms like Iridium, Odyssey, Teledesic, and Globalstar. That's in addition to the Inmarsat, COMSAT, and American Mobile Satellite (AMSC) services we have today. Confusion reigns.

Fortunately, KVH Industries is coming to the rescue for any yacht owner who needs global satellite communications at an affordable price. By entering into a marketing agreement with PTT Telecom's Station 12--an Inmarsat service provider based in the Netherlands--KVH is now offering a turn-key, one-stop-shopping solution for anyone who needs to bring voice, data, and fax capabilities aboard. But first, a little background information.

Inmarsat is an international organization that launches and owns communications satellites, and they provide various types of services, including Inmarsat A, B, C, M, and now a new voice-and-data service called "mini-M." Inmarsat A and B offer the best voice quality and fastest data-transfer speeds, but they're very expensive to use (calls cost $10/minute), making them suitable only for the largest megayachts and commercial vessels.

For smaller yachts, Inmarsat C provides global coverage but it's a data-only link. Inmarsat M can handle voice and data from smaller terminals, but the equipment is still pricey at $18,000 and calls are $5 per minute.

So to bring costs down even more, Inmarsat has recently launched three of its new Inmarsat-3 satellites, and the fourth should be in orbit by the time you read this. These satellites--which provide the new mini-M service--are 20 times more powerful than Inmarsat's first-generation satellites, and they use spot-beam technology to cover most (but not all) of the world. Areas not covered are primarily deep-ocean areas between continents, the Indian Ocean, and the Polar Regions.

By concentrating their coverage areas and increasing the number of calls they can handle simultaneously, the Inmarsat-3 satellites make mini-M the most economical global satcom service to date. Depending on the service plan you choose, airtime can be as low as $2.40 per minute, making it affordable for megayachts and express cruisers alike.

Other Hardware

Mini-M's spot-beam technology has allowed equipment manufacturers like KVH to make their antennas smaller and lighter than ever before. The company's new mini-M Tracphone 50 consists of a dome antenna that weighs 30-pounds and is just 19-inches in diameter, so it can fit aboard most any vessel with a hardtop or electronics arch. This antenna is fully stabilized, so it automatically stays pointed at the satellite within a 45-degree pitch-and-roll range. Additional equipment includes a small black-box transceiver and a cellular phone-style handset, and the entire package lists for $7,995.

KVH is also offering the super-compact Tracphone 25, with a stabilized antenna that's 10-inches in diameter and nine-inches high. This unit will list for just $6,995. So why buy the Tracphone 50? According to KVH's vice president of marketing Jim Dodez, "The 50's larger antenna will work better in fringe coverage areas, and there may be a high-gain spot beam coming that will be received only by the 50. If this happens, airtime costs on the 50 will be even lower than they are on the 25."

Other Services

Though Inmarsat owns the satellites, it does not process satellite phone calls or route them through to landlines. Inmarsat service providers like COMSAT and Station 12 do that.

While U.S.-based COMSAT will not be providing mini-M service to the maritime community, Station 12 is, and it's available in any of three different plans called "Altus."

"Altus Traveller" (for infrequent use of 20 to 80 minutes/month) costs $25 per month and calls are $3 per minute. "Altus Voyager" (for 80 to 200 minutes/month), is $40 per month and $2.70 per minute. And for heavy use, "Altus Office" costs $100 per month plus $2.40 per minute. No matter which plan you choose, your calls go through uncensored and uninterrupted, but the data transfer speed for mini-M is just 2400 baud. This is slow by today's landline standards (currently 28,800 baud), but at least it will provide fax and internet/email access from onboard computer terminals.

Planet 1

COMSAT is offering land-based mini-M service via its new portable phone called PLANET 1. This unit is about the size of a laptop computer, and it can be used anywhere within mini-M's coverage area--simply orient the unit towards the satellite, raise the lid (antenna) to the appropriate angle, and dial away. Though the unit is currently awaiting FCC authorization for use in this country, PLANET 1 will be a perfect complement for those who use their yachts both for international business and pleasure. It lists for about $3,000.

So if you stay pretty close to U.S. shores, mini-M makes little sense since there are less-expensive alternatives like the SKYCELL service from AMSC. But if international voyages are in your future, the advent of mini-M will let you stay in touch for less than ever before. The only catch? You're gonna get another phone bill.smbox