Marine Case Studies
Your mobile connection partner at sea
Quality voice and data is essential for staff working on ships both when they are at sea or in port. In the modern world, mobile data is used for communicating with family, business and entertainment. Because of the structure of the ship, providing this service can be very expensive. The steel hull blocks mobile signal like a Faraday cage. There are many small rooms inside the ship all surrounded by metal walls. The ship can be far out to sea. All of this limits the options available for data services on the ship. Often customers have to rely on satellite which is expensive and slow.
How to ensure the best mobile signal on a ship?
Enable mobile signal 40km from the mobile operators’ towers on the shoreline.
Ships, yachts and barges all have to be able to communicate while at sea. Mobile signal can propagate out to sea at least 30km from the coastline (where there is an operator's mast). A repeater system can take this weak mobile signal, amplify it, and send it around the inside of the ship. This is the most cost-effective way to provide voice and data to all staff and passengers inside the ship.
Stella Doradus repeaters ensure full mobile signal at least 30km out to sea. Solutions are available for both mobile phones and routers. The product range enables staff and clients to stay connected when the ship is 30km from shore, using their own mobile data plan, without the need for expensive satellite systems, saving thousands of Euro every month.
Choose a solution that will provide signal in all areas below deck.
Ships are robust steel structures, built to endure harsh environments at sea. Space is at a premium and the inside of a vessel generally consists of narrow corridors and small rooms. The steel walls make it impossible for the mobile signal to penetrate, resulting in no mobile signal below the deck.
The Stella Repeater System takes the weak external signal from the operator, amplifies it and sends it around the inside of the ship. Internal antennas located in the corridors and cabins ensure coverage in all desired areas deep inside the ship.
Ensure full mobile signal is delivered to 5G/4G/3G/2G routers below deck.
High speed, stable data is essential for modern communications on ships. High-end 5G routers are available which provide speeds of up to 1Gb. However, down in the comms room, deep within the hull of the ship, these routers often receive very poor mobile signal. Many cables must be connected from the router to outdoor antennas high up on the mast. Two problems result from these long cables.
1. The signal is lost in the long cables.
Stella’s RouterAmp combats signal loss over long cables by adding 15dB extra gain. This ensures that the router receives full signal, allowing it to work at full capacity.
2. These MIMO routers rely on multiple antennas to achieve these very high speeds. For the latest 5G routers, with 4 radios, up to 16 antennas are required. This means 16 cables need to be installed from the router to the mast.
Stella's RouterAmp reduces the number of required cables by up to a factor of four. For example, a router with 16x antennas (4xSIM’s) now only requires 4 external cables and antennas. Stella’s RouterAmp is compatible with all routers and amplifies the signal from all operators.
Ensure US, Caribbean, Europe and Asian signal support for transatlantic journeys
Ships and yachts travelling transatlantic routes require equipment that can accommodate US / Caribbean frequencies as well as European and Asian frequencies to enable mobile signal within the ship. Stella has a range of repeaters and router amplifiers that seamlessly switch frequencies to support mobile signals on both sides of the Atlantic.
Choose a cost efficient and future-proofed solution
Communication at sea is very expensive for ships and yacht owners. Satellite costs can amount to thousands of Euro per month. A cost effective communication system is required within a ship to drastically reduce voice and data costs on board. Stella Repeater Solutions allow staff and passengers to use their phones for up to 30 km from the operators’ masts on land, for voice and data. The Stella iRepeaters amplify the 5G signal from the mobile operators, and network providers offer speeds of up to 200Mb with average data packages. The operators continuously improve their network and their data speeds are increased dramatically year after year. This makes the Stella iRepeater System by far the most professional and future proofed system available.
