Communication Optimizers

By Daniel Piltch, Marine Computer Systems
(as originally published in Ocean Voyager 2003) 
  

 

Due to the limitations of a given system's design, there's usually a maximum rate at which bits can flow through the communication pipes from one user to another. This rate is most often measured in the number of bits that can be transmitted in a second. So a rate of 2400 bits per second (bps) means that a system can only pass 2400 bits in any given second.Many companies are seeking to increase the effective throughput by deploying various techniques such as compression, selective downloading, and trunking. Stratos's StratosNet service (www.stratosglobal.com), and KVH's Velocity Acceleration software (www.kvh.com) focus on compressing information before it gets sent over the communications channel. SeaTel's WaveCall (www.seatel.com) can use a combination of three Globalstar modems worked together to triple the available speed in conjunction with SeaSpeed - their own brand of compression software.UUPlus (www.uuplus.com), a newcomer to the yachting market, has been serving the non-profit humanitarian sector for well over a decade. Their monthly service significantly reduces the overhead involved in transferring emails and allows for redirection or deletion of large attachments. MarineNet (www.marinenet.net) offers many of the same services as UUPlus, and also offers their own HF email service as described above.SeaWave (www.seawave.com) has ambitious plans with their upcoming Integrator product to offer least-cost routing between HF, satellite, and cellular GSM services. After purchasing a black-box unit and installing it aboard, SeaWave's Communicator software will determine which communication will be the most appropriate given the size and priority of the message and then send it off over the right channel. In conjunction with their automatic link establishment to pick the most efficient HF radio station, the actual transmission is a truly hands-off process. Look for the Integrator to be released later this year.

 

 

 

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