Ocean Navigator: Newsletter #6


The Rise and Fall of Marine Cellular Communications


The wonders of technology -- always getting smaller, cheaper and faster. In most cases, newer technology offers more capabilities, more features, and more access. Not so for marine cellular technology. While the cellular industry has certainly been offering cheaper plans and more features, the marine market is actually getting the raw end of the deal.

The big push right now in the wireless phone industry is faster data connectivity. There's been a lot of press lately on new systems like Verizon's Express service, AT&T's new GSM/GPRS data service and even their older PocketNet (CDPD) service. These 2.5G services are a stepping stone on the way to third generation (3G) wireless data services which are promising speeds as fast as a cable modem, but without the cable.

What hasn't been publicized quite as much is the fact that these new services are eroding the marine coverage area for our cell phones. A little bit history will explain why:

In the "old" days, it was easy for a cellular provider to get coverage over a wide area by putting up a relatively tall antenna and having it transmit with a substantial amount of power. This isn't unlike putting a VHF antenna high atop your mast and using high power on the radio.

As more and more customers sign on, it becomes difficult to have them all share a single cell using the one tall, powerful antenna. So the solution was to build other smaller cells nearby and reduce the power of the original antenna. So four or five cells took the place of what was once one cell. This allows the provider to service more customers (and bill more minutes) using the same frequency.

In the early days, much of the power of the antennas "spilled" out over the water. This was a boon to those of us with cell phones offshore. With a high enough antenna, and high quality coaxial cable, and a boosted three watt analog bag-style phone, and some degree of luck we were able to make cell phone calls from as much as 50 or more miles offshore.

Then came the digital revolution. Digital and PCS style cellular equipment allowed more customers to be on the network at the same time. Providers jumped at this opportunity and convinced as many customers as possible to make the switch to digital so that the provider's network could service more people concurrently. They lured us with thousands of free minutes and shorter contract lengths. They even subsidized our phones to make it easier for us to use their new PCS service rather than their old analog service. While it would be nice to think that they had our best interests at heart, it’s more likely that they really just wanted to maximize their network capacity to gain more customers and more revenues.

After watching the mess we were creating in the US with various incompatible acronymic cellular systems (AMPS, NAMPS, CDMA, TDMA, and so on), Europeans decided to pick a single standard (GSM) and stick with that. This is the reason it’s so easy to roam all around Europe and most of the world with a single phone, but doing the same in the US & Caribbean is somewhat of a challenge.

Meanwhile, back here in the US, many boaters are realizing that the older bag-style analog phones are the best bet for offshore coverage. Raymarine even introduced an updated version of the bag phone called a Raycom Communicator that is essentially a black box that allows you to plug in a standard household phone (and a 12V power supply and an external antenna) and offers analog cellular service. Unfortunately, once you obtain your bag phone or Raymarine’s equivalent the next thing you’ll need to do is beg and plead at your local cellular provider’s shop. Most providers won’t activate an analog-only account. Some local providers will work with you, but beware the roaming fees you’re likely to encounter if you travel outside their home area.

So rush out and buy the latest and greatest phone and use it all over the place – except on your boat.

- Dan Piltch
dpiltch@MarineComputer.com


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