wifi made simple

[Spankerwrap]

We have just started a charter business in the South of France it is quite important for us to access emails on a regular basis (preferably on board) but , I have to be honest, I have not got a clue how this can be done.

When I bought the boat, it came with a laptop and some sort of programme which allows access to the interweb, although the seller said I would have to sign up with an Iridium(?) supplier to access this.

I have also been hearing about wifi and wonder if this will allow us to sign on to our ISP (AOL) using this. How does this work. Will we need the use of a mobile? Do we pay for this, who and how? Do we need a modem?

Any advice would be much appreciated. . If you could work on the theory that you are explaining to the terminally stupid when it comes to things electronic, it would be a good start!

Thanks

Steve Howard
www.midwest-charters.com

 

[temptress]

How long is a bit of string?

There is no simple or cheap answer to what you are asking. there are hundreds of solutions and ways to do this but the simpler the solution the more expensive the set-up and running costs....

PM me and I'll take this off line with you. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[abraxus]

Firstly Iridium is a satellite phone network, so assuming he meant what he said that all you need to is sign up, the I assume it has all the neccessary kit, ie Iridium phone/modem. The up side of satellite is that you can get access wherever you are in the world, even far out at sea. The down side is that it's expensive.

WiFi is wireless internet access, using a wireless modem that connects to a wireless network, no mobile phone required. Wireless cards are cheap and generally access is quite cheap (one off monthly charge) compared to other options. Downside is that you need to be in range of a wireless network, which are shore based and vary from place to place, ie no global or even national networks to speak of, just ad hoc in places such as certain marinas. If you have wifi available at your marina then this would be the best option as long as you don't need offshore or mobile access.

The compromise option is using mobile telephones which connect to your laptop via infra red, a cable or bluetooth, or a mobile phone card that fits in the pc card slot. These give you internet access via the mobile networks and are more expensive than wifi but give greater coverage, and less expensive than satellite but less coverage. In practice mobile will cover you for more or less anywhere until you start getting a mile or so offshore.

If you go mobile it's best to go with a network in the country you're based as this will be cheaper and avoid roaming charges, but higher charges will occur if you use it other countries. For best choice you need to check the various suppliers data charges and select according to what suits your usage needs as they usually charge in bundles.

 

[temptress]

you still need a ISP to provide the IP address etc. AOL was mentioned there will be an additional charge from the ISP. Some mobile phone newtorks let you assess through GPRS and some again provde you with an 'ISP' service to connect to but then again some do not.

If you are confused by any of this get a suitably experianced person to look at what you have, discuss what you need and get it setup.

 

[gfbalduc]

There are a million solutions, depending on what you want to achieve and how much you are prepared to spend.

Factors to be taken into consideration are things like the following (list definitely not exhaustive!):
- type of internet access you need: e-mail only or web access as well?
- volume of traffic: few short e-mails per day or many e-mails including attachments (fotographs, brochures, etc.)
- location where you want to be able to connect: port only, coastal or offshore
- budget!

The more popular solutions available to common mortals are the following (in increasing order of complexity/cost but also coverage):

- Internet cafés:
How it works: shops equipped with internet-connected PC's: you go there and do what you need, preferrably copying your mails to/from a portable storage medium (floppy disk or USB memory) for transfer to your own PC.
System requirements: a portable storage medium and an industrial-strength anti-virus Sw on your PC!
Coverage: easily found almost everywhere, but of course they're of no use when you are at sea!
Performance is usually good, with exceptions. High risk of viruses!
Cost: normally reasonable by-the-hour fees, occasionally free public services are available as well.

- wifi:
How it works: a direct internet connection through a short-range radio signal to an access-point that must be provided by someone (telecom operator, marina...).
System requirements: a PC with wi-fi interface (either built-in or with a cheap add-in PC-card).
Coverage: few tens (hundreds?) of meters from the aerial (if and where there is one!)
Performance may vary significantly, from broadband down to barely useable.
Cost: some marinas offer it to their users (in which case it is VERY convenient!), but otherwise cost is normally not very cheap.

GSM:
How it works: you connect your PC to the internet by means of a conventional GSM cell-phone
System requirements: PC + data-capable cell phone (or dedicated GSM PC-card)
Coverage: almost everywhere within some 10-20 miles from any country where GSM service is active. There may be spots where there is no coverage (e.g. secluded anchorages) or occasional coverages much further away from the coast.
Performance is slow by modern standards (9600bps) unless you upgrade to GPRS (which is not much better though, and is often quite expensive)
Cost: uses equipment that you may already have, but connections can become expensive if used a lot, and even more so if travelling in another country (but use of local SIM cards may help avoiding this second issue).

IRIDIUM / GLOBALSTAR / THURAYA satphones:
How it works: same as above, but uses one of the various satphone systems to provide connection.
System requirements: PC + satphone + dedicated data kit
Coverage: Iridium is the only more-or-less truly global one, Globalstar is catching up but still has holes in high-seas coverage, Thuraya is cheaper but covers only Europe and (northern?) Africa.
Data speed is VERY low (2400gps, more with data-compression Sw)
Cost: satphones begin at about 1200 GBP, traffic is expensive (say, 1.5 $ per minute) but not much more expensive than GSM roaming.

SSB:
How it works: PC connected to e-mail service through the SSB radio, using a special purpose modem.
System requirements: PC + SSB radio + special modem
Coverage: worldwide
Speed is very slow and only text e-mails or weather files are allowed. No attachments.
Cost: huge equipment cost (radio + modem) but low service cost (typically 250 $ / year for 10 minutes' usage per day).

A lot of more sophysticated (and expensive!) solutions are available from INMARSAT (like Inmarsat-C, RBGAN, etc), but they appear to be justified only if you need to run your office from onboard and are prepared to pay the cost.

 

[trouville]

I dont think you will do well 12000 Euros a week!!

And you have no idea about internet??? You will have to service your site certainly modify your prices!Which dont include port charges!

By LW (long wave) communications do you mean you still get the home and third service?????

 

[abraxus]

?????????????????

 

[Spankerwrap]

Thanks everyone for the prompt and comprehensive responses to this enquiry. Methinks I will have to get someone suitably knowledgable to visit the boat and investigate this further for me, but feel the mobile phone and infra red connection is probably the way forward.

As for pricing, we have placed the cat with various charter agents based around the world and have had many a long conversation with them regarding what we should charge. None of them feel that our charging policy is out of line with the existing market place and, looking at other boats on offer, this does appear to be the case. On the basis that they only get commission on the weeks they sell, it is not in their interests to suggest an over inflated price and we have gone with their recommendation.

Who knows. You can only go by the experts opinion . We are looking at this year very much as a start up exercise and have three weeks booked already, not much but the year is young as they say.

Again, thanks to all, this forum is just great for issues like this

Regards

Steve Howard

www.midwest-charters.com

 

[Birdseye]

I found that receiving e mails via a mobile phone and a PDA was quite practical and was a sensible cost (about £1 per session average), particularly with the late lamented Psion This had very good e mail software which initially archived only the headers of the emails allowing you to reject the viagra ones without downloading.

Going the mobile route there are three solvable issues. First is to get a local sim card which allows data - some pay as you go do not. Do not rule out phone to your UK ISP - more expensive but more easily done. The second is to use software that initially downloads headers only to allow filtering. Thunderbird does that, probably OE too but I dont know about AOHell.The third is to use an e mail system that is stripped of graphics - most do this if selected.

I have no experience of using SSB for e mails but fair experience of using SSB for voice and weather. Unless you want to send e mail whilst well offshore, I wouldnt bother

You will still end up using internet cafes at times!

PS Very easy in France is to go along to la Poste, most of which have internet terminals available fairly cheaply. You buy a card which you charge with money.

 

[brownsox]

I'm not techie but we have a Blackberry with data bundle - that bit costs £12.77 a month. For foreign use we paid extra - maybe £20 month, can't remember. Expensive, but emails are instant, no logging on, received and sent in remote mountain-surrounded bays in Turkey, no problem at all. Same kit=phone. Brilliant for managing holiday let business whilst holidaying ourselves. Maybe no good for longer term.

 

[ex-Gladys]

...RIM are still in potential trouble with patent infringement and COULD be forced out of business

 

[PhilF]

all is not lost

apparantly they have developed a fix if its turned off, news today

 

[ex-Gladys]

Re: all is not lost

Cheers. Senior people where I work use them, and I was not looknig forward to turning them off....