Boat WiFi Internet At Sea. Photo by C. Ryan McVinney for YachtWorld.
While some sailors will leap at the opportunity to forgo emails for a few days and go truly off-grid, there are many practical reasons why you might need to access the internet hundreds of miles out at sea. From accessing navigational information, to staying in touch with friends and family, access to the internet can make many aspects of being out on the open sea much easier. Our guide provides solutions for everything from low to heavy-duty data usage.
- WiFi At Sea
- Boat Internet 101
- Marine Internet Options & Pricing
- Broadband Global Area Network
- Frequent Questions
The Difficulties of Satellite at Sea
Numerous challenges come with trying to stay connected when you are dozens, or even hundreds, of miles from shore. Distance is the biggest issue since larger, more complex satellites are necessary to provide compensation for the range. Plus, a boat is constantly moving and rocking, and satellite connections generally require a stable location, so technology has to adapted. As such, getting a reliable set up with a strong signal is typically going to have a hefty price tag.
When you’re cruising along the ICW or Great Loop, internet access will be vital for finding fuel, marinas, food and other basic services along the way.
Boat Internet 101: How it Works
The Internet works differently on boats and yachts, and it will work differently depending exactly how far out from shore you are. There is satellite service available on boats today that can offer connectivity for things like messaging, phone calls, Internet surfing, and even HDTV reception. Existing equipment was adapted to work on moving vessels, and those willing to pay can find plenty of options to stay connected.
Several satellite dishes are available from a variety of manufacturers that include the hardware and a data plan that is charged monthly like a cell phone or land-based Internet plan. Although signal boosters are available for those who don’t venture too far from shore, these have their limits. Boaters who want the most expansive coverage have to go with satellite. It’s the only way to get reliable service when you’re out on open water.
Before Starlink internet connectivity for boats became available, captains and passengers on boats in the open ocean relied primarily on scanty cellular reception. On individual handsets cellular signal are erratic at sea. Coverage becomes more consistent when using either a cell carrier’s portable hotspot or Wave WiFi’s MBR 550 or MNC1250 wireless routers connected to an external cellular antenna. Even with this equipment cell service is sporadic especially during times of poor propagation.
Thanks to SpaceX’s new Starlink satellite internet constellation system, first launched in 2019 and now widely available in 2024, boaters at sea are able to get better data speeds and signal, even while moving. Starlink can provide enhanced connectivity to boaters cruising offshore, where cellular and WiFi signals can no longer be relied upon. Boaters can run the Starlink system into the ship’s network providing internet access to multiple users onboard using an optional Starlink Ethernet Adapter.
Of course, like all boating technology, there’s a solution for just about every price range, with basic Internet solutions starting as low as $1,500. Of course, custom and high-end Internet satellite systems are available that can provide global access with plenty of data for as much as $50,000 or more.
There are endless perks to working remotely on a boat; a wide range of scenic spots can be a catalyst to productivity. Ensuing the pandemic, the number of boat owners working remotely significantly increased. The hybrid-workforce has swapped the office for a yacht deck. But just how much does it cost to fund connectivity out in the deep blue?
Your Connection Options And Associated Costs
Land-Based WiFi
If you’re staying relatively close to land, the cheapest option to access WiFi onboard a boat is to simply connect to the WiFi provided by the marina, harbor or port you’re docked at. In some cases, this can even be free. However, during peak times you may struggle to get a strong connection, particularly when below deck. In this case, a WiFi booster may strengthen your connection. Digital Yacht’s WL510 WiFi Access System (from $672.23) can be plugged directly into your laptop’s ethernet port, and offers a 10km range capability — perfect for boosting weak connections at marinas.
Starlink
As mentioned above, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation system consists of a series of orbiting satellites that provide internet connectivity for boaters. There are a few different ways this can be utilized and set up on a boat, with some varying price options. If you want to keep everything and everyone on your boat connected to the internet, Wave WiFi has hardware solutions for all types and sizes of vessels, and fortunately, their systems work seamlessly with Starlink and other satellite internet providers. Furthermore, Wave WiFi provides the versatility and the redundancy necessary to utilize other internet onboard through less expensive cellular and WiFi hot spots when they are available. Marine solutions can be expensive, requiring a $5,000 investment for equipment and another $5,000 monthly for global coverage at speeds up to 350 Mbps. Some sailors find the high cost and complex setup of marine satellite systems like this daunting and opt for Starlink RV setups on their boats instead. Alternatively, RV systems offer unlimited, high-speed internet with a single antenna, costing $599 for a portable setup or $2,500 for a version that works while in motion, with a much lower monthly fee of $150. However, these RV systems are intended for land use, and their functionality might be compromised or service terminated by Starlink if used significantly offshore.
Cellular Data
Many cell phone carriers will allow you to use your smartphone as a hotspot, so that you can share your cellular internet connection as a WiFi hub for other devices onboard. Again, this will only work if you’re within range of a cellphone tower, but this is a cost-effective option for those staying relatively close to shore. Boats will typically lose cellular signal once they reach beyond 10-15 miles from shore (i.e. beyond “inshore” where the signal fades as the vessel enters the open ocean, aka “offshore”).
If you find yourself with a weak 4G signal, there are some devices which will help you strengthen it. MailASail’s Roam-Free 4-Gateway (from $479) has antennas which are much larger than on a mobile phone, and is able to boost an existing 4G signal nearly a thousandfold.
As we are all probably painfully aware at this point, higher data usage = bigger monthly bills. Add to that the aggravation of certain limited “caps” on data – even for accounts that claim they have unlimited data usage – and you can be in for a headache on long cruising trips when your passengers are guzzling up data. Most “unlimited” cellular plans begin to slow down the data rate once you’ve reached these caps. You can still stream video and do zoom calls, but it may become so slow it is virtually unusable.
This is often called bandwidth shaping, and helps the service provider make more money by reserving enough data to maximize across all their customer accounts. Ryan McVinney who is constantly recording, streaming and uploading/downloading video from yachts and boats for both YachtWorld and Boat Trader (as part of the brand’s video series Stomping Grounds), suggests another approach for those who consume high amounts of data (i.e. stream and upload a lot of video).
“When I’m on the water filming or live streaming a video, I tend to bring along 3 different phones,” says McVinney.
“Each phone is from a different service provider – so I have AT&T, T-Mobile and Google Fi devices onboard. When one reaches a cap, or has weak service, I switch to the other. All the devices are hotspot enabled, so it is easy to switch between them.”
Of course having three different cellular plans and phones can get expense, but it usually ends up being cheaper than a dedicated marine WiFi system – and is most certainly more affordable than a fixed satellite system.
Marine WiFi Systems
If you’d like to support multiple users browsing the internet, a 4G WiFi router can help. WebBoat’s 4G Plus ($760) is a plug-and-play device which can support up to 24 users connecting approximately 20 miles from the shore. It also has a function which automatically switches to marina WiFi when the boat reaches shore, which is useful for keeping costs low.
Other Fixed Satellite Systems
If you need to stay connected while venturing further afield, there is only one option: investing in a satellite dish/system. Beyond Starlink, there are other providers in this space as well, although all of them will incur significant costs, ranging from $3,000 to up to $50,000. In addition to the cost of the satellite dish itself, you will pay a much higher rate per megabyte of data — a typical rate is $0.50 per MB, which means that 4GB of data will cost around $2,000. There are low-end plans available for basic users that start around $50 a month, and plans are available up to $1,000 per month or more depending on the amount of data needed. For those who need plenty of data and connectivity for multiple users, the monthly bill will be closer to $2,500. It’s worth noting that, if you invest in a satellite dish, it’s worth investing in compression software to help reduce the amount of data used up by emails and other downloads.
A good mid-range option for satellite communications is Inmarsat’s Fleet One, which starts from $765 per month for 100MB of data, to $4,569 for 40GB of data. This offers 150kbps will support basic browsing and voice calls, and includes some useful safety features, which allows you to direct emergency calls to the nearest Marine Rescue Coordination Center.
At the top of the range is Inmarsat’s Fleet Xpress. Used by superyachts and large-scale commercial vessels, this offers download speeds of 10mbps, and starts from a hefty $35,760 for the satellite dish, with data costs starting from $1,804 per month. It’s worth noting that the kit weighs upwards of 37kg, so this is only suitable for very large vessels.
BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network)
If you don’t want to invest in your own satellite dish, BGANs offer an alternative. These are portable systems which essentially create a mobile hotspot on your boat, with a device that resembles a notebook or laptop. This service is offered by a private company that operates multiple satellites that connect to various terminals. They can be linked with WiFi, Ethernet, USB, or Bluetooth, but GPS and a direct sky view are required.
Inmarsat’s BGAN Explorer starts from $2,495, and can support up to 464kbps. However, the biggest difference here is that you’ll pay less for a terminal, but a lot more for the data plans. Basic data plans start around $70 per month, which gives you access to 5MB of data — anything over that will be charged at $6.36 per MB, which will quickly add up.
Q&A
Can I Watch Netflix And Hulu Onboard A Boat?
According to Netflix, streaming an hour long, full-length TV show like the Outer Banks (a hit video series revolving around boating culture in North Carolina, worth checking out btw) requires about 1GB of data. That is assuming you’re streaming it in SD (standard definition). You can change your settings to stream HD (high definition), and it will end up using closer to 3GB per hour. For shows that are available in 4K and higher resolutions, you’ll be looking at a whopping 7.3 GB per hour, which will quickly burn through your allotted data limits before you’re service is slowed to a crawl. Over-the-top video platforms (OTT providers) and video on demand services (VOD) such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Roku and Samsung TV Plus often have options in their video players for setting the playback resolution. Often this defaults to “automatic” which can actually end up streaming in 4K if you’re not carefully (particularly at the start of the month, before you provider starts “shaping” your bandwidth and slowing you down). We suggest always setting this to at least SD, and perhaps even smaller, if you’re watching on a phone or tablet, as the visual difference may be negligible on smaller screens.
Why Is Marine Internet So Expensive?
While on land, you may be able to access a fast, high quality internet connection for a hundred dollars a month or less, several challenges make staying connected at sea slightly trickier than onshore. Distance is a huge factor, since larger, more complex satellites are necessary to transmit data to hard-to-reach locations. Additionally, satellite internet generally requires a stable location to form a connection — which isn’t necessarily provided by a boat, which tends to be constantly rocking and moving. Both of these factors will affect the quality and price of the internet you’ll be able to access.
How Much Data Do I Need?
Here are some indicative data and speed specifications, which will help you make an informed decision about your needs.
How Much Storage Do I Require?
- Downloading a photo: 1MB
- Downloading a film: 5GB
- Downloading your favourite documentary on Netflix uses 3GB an hour for each stream of HD video
What Wifi Speed Do I Need?
This is completely dependent on what you would like to use the internet for. Have a think about how you and your family and friends might want to use it.
- Skype calls: 100kbps
- Facebook: 500kpbs
- Streaming video: 1.5mbps
- Streaming HD video: 5.0mbps
The Final Call
You can get the home broadband experience when you’re out to sea, but only if you’re willing to foot the bill. Budget-friendly Internet solutions can be had for a minimal fee, but premium data plans will cost you upwards of $2,000 per month to get the kind of connectivity that you want for browsing, TV streaming, and other entertainment. Think about what you need (or want) from your WiFi solutions, and choose the one that delivers performance at a price that fits your budget.
To find out more about staying secure at sea, read our article The Perks of Working Remotely On A Boat
Editors Note: This article was originally published in June 2020, and was last updated in March 2024.
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