Want to Access the gCaptain Forum at Sea? Try Inmarsat's FleetOne

Image (c) R.Almeida

[SPONSORED] While in Tokyo at Sea Japan the other week, I met up with Peter Broadhurst, Vice President at Inmarsat Maritime who was introducing a new service to the marine market called FleetOne.

Imagine you’re the type of person who on occasion, spends two to three days, or perhaps a week offshore. You’re probably either working on a fishing boat or a yacht most likely, explained Broadhurst.

Going with a full scope VSAT system and a major IT installation is probably a bit overkill, but you still want to have access to the gCaptain Forum, Facebook, Twitter, and the navigation and/or weather app you have installed on your phone – as well as VOIP programs to call home.

FleetONE is Inmarsat’s answer to that problem.

It essentially turns your vessel into a mobile hotspot allowing your phone and associated gadgets to work just as they would if you were within cell phone range, but without the costs associated with a VSAT setup.

Ideal for tugboat operators?

“Not really,” notes Broadhurst. This system is really aimed at those people currently using voice on GSM exclusively. We’re going to give them better voice and data outside of GSM range.”