Onboard internet, integrating Starlink and more
Have you ever driven away in your car or walked into a meeting or an appointment and realized you left your smartphone somewhere? It feels almost like you stepped out of the house without your clothes on as that feeling of “access panic” sets in. The reality for most of us is that having constant internet access is part of our daily lives and when we can’t connect it can create anxiety. On land, cellular based internet is pretty ubiquitous, but out on the boat, coverage can be spotty or non-existent. Starlink is a good solution for many boaters, and I have been using this satellite system for several years. When I first put satellite internet aboard, I thought Starlink would replace all of my previous Wi-Fi and cellular equipment. I now realize that integrating Starlink into my existing system works better, especially because the Wave WiFi equipment I relied on before I had satellite has been improved. New features allow you to control satellite usage onboard, share data sources, and also use Multifunction displays (MFDs) from Furuno, Simrad, Boning, and more to access and control your internet connections.
Since both my wife and I sometimes need to work from our boat, we were early adopters of onboard internet equipment. We used cellular boosters, external cellular and ethernet converting Wi-Fi antennas, and onboard routers with SIM activated cellular systems before we got Starlink. The Wave WiFi system* we use on our boat consists of an MNC-1250 router and a Rogue Reach DB (Dual Band) Wi-Fi antenna. This system allows us to connect to land-based Wi-Fi from further away, and then when we are out of Wi-Fi range we can connect to cellular. Now that we have Starlink when we are out of cellular range, we can connect to the internet by satellite using one of their flat panel antennas which keeps our boat online pretty much all the time.
Wave WiFi MNC 1250
Wave WiFI Rogue Reach DB
Wave WiFi Cell
Starlink basics
After using Starlink for several years, what we found is that their service plans and rules for use often change, which can create confusion. Without getting into too much detail because programs and prices will change, I will highlight a few different current options for boaters.
For most recreational boaters, flat panel antennas like a Starlink Mini ($249) 11.75″x10.2″x1.45″-2.43lbs (1.1kg) or a Standard Starlink Gen3 ($349) 23.4″x15.07″x1.5″-7.9lbs (3.6kg) will suffice. (For onboard mounting solutions check out this Best4Boats article) These relatively inexpensive antennas can be paired with a Roam monthly data plan: 100 Gigabytes (GB) $50 or Unlimited $165. You used to be able to add data to your plan if you went over the limit in increments but now you receive unlimited low speed data when you run over the 100 GB limit. You then can buy up to the Roam Unlimited plan to restore faster speeds. You will remain on that unlimited plan in future months unless you switch back to Roam 100 GB, which must be done by the monthly deadline. Both plans allow you to pause service which costs $5 per month and provides low speed service while paused. This allows you to easily upgrade service when needed. I restarted my plan to use the Starlink when writing this article which required only clicking a button in the app. You can also cancel your service entirely to save the $5 per month but if you do, there is no guarantee they won’t charge you to reactivate or deny or delay service based on the capacity of the area you are in. From what I understand reactivation charges and delayed service is unusual, but it is possible.
Roam Service (not priority)
Roam service is limited to 12 nautical miles (13.8 statute miles / 22.2 km) offshore which is suitable for many coastal cruisers although usage in territorial waters is capped at five consecutive days/60 days a year. If you need to go further offshore, you can choose the Roam Unlimited plan and then opt-in and pay for Ocean Mode which allows access to Global Priority Data and allows coverage beyond 12 nautical miles, and removes the five consecutive days/60 days a year cap. When your longer cruise is complete, you can turn off Ocean Mode and go back to Roam service. You can still use the cheaper Roam hardware but your speeds even when paying for priority data will be somewhat slowed by your hardware if you do, particularly with the mini.
Roam plans are more cost-effective, but they don’t guarantee you high speed connection, especially if you are near priority users that are using up bandwidth. If you are anchored near a cruise ship which can host dozens of Starlink systems or happen to be in a city that has a lot of users, your signal can be degraded. Starlink starts out fast like a large water pipe, but nonpriority users are drawing from one small spigot toward the end of the pipe. If few other users are diverting water off into their larger priority pipes you get good flow/faster speeds. When many other users are accessing the same pipe, including priority users that are taking large quantities, nonpriority service can slow significantly.
Priority Service
Ocean going cruisers and commercial vessels typically purchase a 22.6 x 20.1 x 1.6 inches 13 lbs (5.9 kg) high-performance antenna (currently $1,999) and use Global Priority service. This service works in most areas of the world and on the high seas, although coverage can be spotty in places and some countries don’t allow Starlink service. (Coverage Map) Monthly data plans currently are 50 GB $250 / 500 GB $650 / 1 Terabyte (TB) $1,150 / 2 TB $2,150 and then users can purchase additional blocks of data to supplement their plan: +50 GB=$100/Month / +500GB=$500/Month. Specific speeds are no longer guaranteed but priority users receive network precedence and speeds that are typically no less than 135–310 Mbps (Megabytes per second) download, and 20–44 Mbps upload. This includes in-motion use up to 100 mph (160 km/h). If you need the speed, or often travel outside of the 12-mile coastal limits, priority service is for you. It may seem expensive but compared to older and slower satellite systems like Inmarsat, Starlink is pretty reasonable.
Starlink Alternatives, Land based WiFi and Cellular
Starlink often changes their rules, rates, and programs which can be annoying. If you are not going to pay $165 each month for unlimited Roam service or need Ocean Mode/Global Priority service where there is no unlimited option, controlling satellite use on board becomes even more important. Even when coastal cruising, integrating Starlink into my onboard Wave WiFi system allows me to do more and control my valuable satellite time. I set up my MNC-1250 router so that it has a SIM card in it and an external antenna for cellular, it is also connected to my Rogue Reach DB (Dual Band) which is an antenna like device on the outside of my boat that can help connect to land based Wi-Fi, and then I run my Starlink into the router too.
The router can be accessed and controlled using a laptop computer, a smartphone or tablet, and now directly on certain MFDs. What this does is allow me to control and prioritize onboard access to internet. The router can be set up to be manually controlled so you tell it which internet source to use, or it can automatically failover. For instance, I set it so that #1 priority connects to land-based Wi-Fi which in many instances is free. If I am in a marina that has Wi-Fi, I set the Rogue to connect to the Wi-Fi and then anyone onboard connected to the router has access to free internet. The Rogue Reach DB thanks to its dual band capabilities lets me choose either 2.4 or 5Ghz Wi-Fi sources and pick the specific hot spots and channels that work best. I can also favoritize sources like my home marina or others I visit often so the system will automatically connect to them when in range. This works well in crowded marinas as I can often get better and more consistent signal onboard than people can connecting individual devices directly to shore.
#2 priority on my boat uses cellular. I have a Google FI Sim card in the router that typically connects to T-Mobile which has good coverage in Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands where I often cruise. You can use other SIM cards that you can get from many phone providers and Wave WiFi also offers Cellular Plans.
#3 priority aboard is Starlink which I use when there is no Wi-Fi or cellular, typically when I cruise to remote areas and in Canada as the cell coverage in the Gulf Islands and up the Inside Passage can be weak. Luckily because these waterways are sandwiched between the Canadian mainland and Vancouver Island, they are not considered offshore by Starlink so Roam service works well there at least at this time.
When set up with the failover priorities detailed here, the router looks for Wi-Fi and connects. If there is no Wi-Fi, or you leave an area and disconnect from a shoreside hot spot, it then connects through cellular. If the cellular coverage is not good enough, then it connects to the internet via satellite. I can also adjust the source manually if for example there is cellular coverage, but if it is too weak, I can switch to satellite. You can actually make the router do this automatically by setting a ping threshold where it tests the internet speed and then if it is too slow switches sources. I don’t usually use that function, but it can be useful in certain applications including switching away from Starlink when your allotted data is used up and you are slowed down or by avoiding Starlink when it is in pause mode where it is still active but just really slow. There are times when it seems like signals running through the router are slowed slightly but the convenience of control and ability to easily monitor your internet from all sources usually outweighs this. If you sense you are not getting fast enough speeds, you can always try to connect internet sources directly to your individual device, but it doesn’t always improve things.
Wave also allows you to “load balance” your internet so you can combine sources, so you are basically custom blending your internet which can help you from using too much data from an individual source and sometimes provide faster or more reliable connection. There are a lot of features, and I am not going to get into most of them, but user control can be important. On my boat I typically give everyone onboard full access to whatever internet we have, but I also occasionally work on a research vessel that operates offshore. On that vessel we use Global Priority Service and internet is important for some of the work we are doing and vessel operations. With the Wave system, different operations onboard or even different crew members can be assigned different access. We once had one of the crew member’s sons on board and he streamed a bunch of movies and burned through some expensive priority data. We could have either limited his access to the Starlink or simply capped his usage so that he only had a specific daily allotment of data. The Wave WiFi system provides a lot of options for different onboard situations that allow you multiple ways to connect and advanced controls of who uses what internet sources.
Controlling your internet using your MFD
I have been using Wave WiFi equipment for many years by accessing it through my laptop or more often on my phone or iPad, but now you can use an MFD as the interface. The basic functions that most people need are easy to use and the website has quick start guides for their products to help you set things up. There are also built-in manuals so that when you are connected to the router for instance there is a digital manual you can access.
A new feature that I really like is that you can now pull up your Wave WiFi information and internet controls on select MFDs. My boat came with a Garmin MFD which is not currently compatible but the guys at Furuno agreed to loan me a new Furuno Navnet TZTouch16X to try out the system for this article. First, I would like to say that the Furuno TZT16X is very easy to use. I set it up without ever looking at the manual and was able to navigate through the controls without a hitch. There is also a built-in tutorial that takes you through the functions. I admit I only watched it after I had already been playing with the unit for a while. There were a few setting that I needed to configure in the Wave WiFi router before it could be displayed on the Furuno MFD. I got those set up with a little assistance from the guys at Wave. I then connected the MNC 1250 via ethernet cable to the Furuno TZTouch plotter and went into the settings to finalize the pairing. After that was completed (which most people will have their installer do) I was able to go into the home menu and set up a new page that included the Wave WiFi interface. I also set the Furuno TXTouch MFD to wirelessly connect to the router too.
Once the MFD is synced with Wave WiFi, you can then pull up, adjust, and control all of the internet functions directly on your MFD which is really nice. You can now select WiFi hotspots to connect to and manage your cellular and Starlink data access. The Furuno TZT16X has a really nice bright display and a responsive touch screen that makes it easy to adjust all the internet connections and a host of other built-in features. Once the system is set up, your Wave interface is available at the touch of a button whenever your MFD is turned on. You no longer have to connect to a phone, tablet, or computer to gain access. Currently Wave WiFi works with Furuno and several other MFD manufacturers including Simrad, B&G, and Boning. Other electronics manufacturers are working on activating this feature and will come online in the future.
Onboard internet is here to stay. If you cruise, then setting up connectivity on your boat is important. Starlink is a game changer for sure, but I found that having a system like Wave WiFi that provides alternate sources other than satellite and the ability to monitor internet access aboard makes it work even better. Displaying and controlling your Starlink and other internet on your boat’s MFD makes it even easier.
Just so you know, you don’t have to be on your phone on the boat all the time. You can turn that thing off and enjoy the water and the quiet. But if you are like me, it is good to know that if you need it, the internet can still be available.
*Note to readers: Aside from my work at Best4Boats, I operate a separate marketing services company, and I do some marketing work with Wave WiFi. To be clear they have provided me with equipment to test that was used in this story but did not pay to have this article published.
