The internet has become an essential part of our everyday life. Of course, this also affects the yacht industry for yacht owners and guests on board, the highest data security and exceptional internet performance are paramount. They expect the same standards that they are used to at home.
Security
Outstanding security is an omnipresent topic in the superyacht industry with different areas like protection against drones, data security and communication. As recent examples prove (e.g. ransomware attack on Garmin) personal data and services provided via the Internet are a constant target. Companies and individuals can be lucrative victims of ruthless cybercriminals, competition or just Internet trolls. Therefore, it is very important for yachts to think about every single measure for defence and combine them to improve the overall security.
Apart from precautions like not writing the password on a board, the foundation of data security is the system setup as a whole. Yachts should always strive for software and hardware that complies with the latest regulations and recommendations to support their need for security, while also looking out for the best performance. Take cellular Internet services for example. Internet connections via cellular networks are a cost-effective tool to connect your yacht. Equipment providing this service can use, for example, end-to-end encryption as a part of the measures to improve data security. Companies that have been aware of the security issue have taken this into account since the beginning when designing their products and services.
Performance
Onboard superyachts the performance of communication and Internet systems is expected to be super in itself. When you look at the different possibilities to connect your yacht to the world wide web you should take into account where it is mostly located. For most yachts this is close to the shore, as they are sailing along the coast, lying at anchor or moored in a harbour. This gives you the possibility to mostly rely on the bandwidth from cellular networks which provides much better value for money than satellite-based solutions. Most of the yachting regions, for example, the Mediterranean, have a good 4G coverage in the coastal regions. Some harbours have even started a 5G service already, although this is only relevant when staying very close to the signal mast as the 5G range is much shorter than 4G. If you want to improve your Internet connection at a few miles’ distance from the shore, too, take an amplified bonding solution, like CELLweaver into account as it combines several connections into a single superfast stream. Bonding services have the additional benefit of splitting up your data streams into parts that are useless for someone else.
Of course, you need more than 4G/5G to stay connected around the world. Satellite services, e.g. VSAT, guarantee the yacht a stable and well performing connection outside the coastal range. This is especially important for explorer yachts that are mostly operating in areas without cellular coverage.
For more information and to find out how CELLweaver can provide these services to you and your yacht visit www.cellweaver.net
You can read the full article and many more here in the Superyacht Technology Blueprint.
