Today I installed the Starlink internet from SpaceX on the boat. and I am getting between 180mb to 250mb download speeds and about 30mb to 35mb upload speeds. Not bad for the floating office.
The first thing I tried was WiFi calling utilizing the Starlink wifi. The call was crystal clear with no noticeable latency. The next thing to try will be a longer WiFi phone call to see how it handles things as it track from one satellite to another satellite.
For now the unit just sitting on the bow. I have ordered the pole mount kit from Starlink to be able to mount it on top of a rod holder mounted to the rail at either the bow of the boat or from the flybridge.
The days of having to return home early to help with a database emergency are over, with the Starlink portability option, I can now work anywhere in North America. That means if we do a boat trip up the inside passage, or to Desolation Sound, I will still be able to keep the business running.
There are a few restrictions on the portability like not being able to use it while moving, but I think I can deal with that.
Running my own business at Stedman Solutions, LLC, connectivity is vitally important. I was recently chatting with the manager at a marina in Canada that we will be visiting in July and I asked about internet, and he stated that their internet gets a bit overloaded on busy weekends. That is something that I have seen in the past both at Roche Harbor and Deer Harbor, but now I don’t have to worry.
The nice thing about boating is that if we are on a dock or at anchor, there are very few times that the sky is blocked in a way that it would prevent this from working. Even if we were docked next to a large boat, I could always move the “dish” to the roof of the fly bridge to get an unobstructed view of the satellites.
In the past using the MOFI cellular router on the boat there have been a few times that it did not work because the cell tower was obscured by part of an island. Now we have no worries about that.
As far as watching television goes, combine this fast internet with a WiFi connected television, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime Streaming and the Xfinity mobile application and we can watch every from a live football game or MMA fight night to the latest episode of our favorite TV show.
I am definitely excited to make use of this during the summer this year.