THERE ARE EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS FROM BIG NEW BRANDS IN THE SATCOM SCENE, BUT WHAT MIGHT SUIT YOUR SAILING? RUPERT HOLMES REPORTS
Until recently, developments in satellite communications were painfully slow, but the pace of change started to quicken a few years ago and is today accelerating rapidly. There’s now a wider choice and vastly improved data speeds, driven by new generation satellites and a growing number of market players, including big brands such as Apple, Amazon and of course Elon Musk/SpaceX’s rapidly expanding Starlink service.
At the same time there’s still space in the market for low cost existing devices that provide mostly text-based comms and a data connection to allow weather GRIBs and GMDSS weather forecasts to be downloaded. The original Iridium GO!, which launched almost a decade ago, quickly became the most popular device for long
