Caribbean Wide Affordable Internet Service

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Axxess Direct

Hi Belize sailor,

Thank you, as I mention before its not for everybody and that clearly includes you.

Competitive advantage!!, 723 yachts over 80 Ft and more that 3100 cruiser type vessels and charter vessels cant all be wrong.

Regards

Den

Yes, but what is the advantage? I'm not seeing it.

[letsgetsailing3]

The idea has merit, but I think the sweet spot is going to be some kind of more limited solution for between $50 and $100 per month, even if you couldn't download movies every other day.

If you can crack that nut, it seems that a lot of cruisers would find you.

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Wow! Surley the typical cruiser is not your ideal target market at those rates.

Sadly the typical cruiser has changed. On this go around cruising for me has seen me sharing anchorages with the "FUBAR" rally folks(power vessels). Clearly the millionaire crowd. Most with boats over 50 ft. Nordhaven and the lot.
I've been limping along semi-well with the Island time WiFi booster on the back of the boat.

Originally Posted by Axxess Direct

Hi Belize sailor,

Thank you, as I mention before its not for everybody and that clearly includes you.

Competitive advantage!!, 723 yachts over 80 Ft and more that 3100 cruiser type vessels and charter vessels cant all be wrong.

Regards

Den

Internet charges in general have been increasing over the years. Now exponentially.
Realistically, the hardware is cheap for what is being charged. But it is a supply and demand market. I'm amazed at the disposable money around these days right after the recession we had. But then again, those with a hand in the demise of the economy were the ones who made out the best.

[bbowers2004]

Good luck with this idea, It would be nice to have one sim throughout the islands but I was under the impression this was covered over just a few different providers?

List of Caribbean mobile phone companies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Digicel, and LIME to name a few.

Again the idea of one sim, sounds nice. As others have said, if I can get a data plan locally for less, it does not meet my standards as a viable solution. Seems something the government employee would get for a service, because they are forced to by regulations...and red tape.

[La Gringa]

I don't find these rates to be outrageous. I live in the Turks and Caicos Islands and for mobile broadband, I am paying $93/mo for 10 GB. If I get to 10 GB too bad. That's all I get. I work remotely in the software business and my husband is a prolific blogger who uploads lots of images. We don't watch conventional television but we do use Netflix and iTunes. You get the point. Additionally, if you don't have an existing international supply of sim cards, not having to chase them down every time you change countries makes it seamless and effortless.

[colemj]

I can't speak for all Caribbean countries, but in the ones we have been to, SIM cards were sold almost immediately upon stepping ashore in most anchorages. You can get them in grass huts in the San Blas islands and in small convenience stores, marinas, etc throughout the Caribbean. Simply walking to customs you will pass many places selling them. Chasing them down has never been a problem or even a concern - or even an apt description.

Mark

[La Gringa]

Upon arriving in the Bahamas from West Palm, we could not find a single SIM card on Grand Bahama Island and we were there for three days. We had to wait until we got to Nassau.

I know, I know. Not a Caribbean Island, blah blah blah.... still!

[colemj]

Yes, I grant you the Bahamas. I was thinking everywhere else…

Mark

[Canibul]

One of the first things I want to do when I get the boat settled in at a new location is go check my email etc. and see if anyone serious is looking for me, or if any of the kids in the USA are having any issues, etc. I'd like to be able to do that without having to go ashore and looking for the grass hut, etc. that sells the local SIM card. So I like the idea of making it seamless to travel and not have to rely upon the availability of a local vender to sell me a SIM card. Not that it's a huge deal, but it's a deal. And the fewer the better.

[colemj]

You get that much email during the 5hr sail from Dominica to Martinique? All of these countries are within sight of each other. Shouldn't customs and immigration be the first thing you do once the boat is settled? You will find SIM cards on your way there.

But I don't mean to argue. If the above service is fine for you, then that's OK by me. Personally, I don't think the extra $150/month ($1,800/yr!) is worth the few minutes it takes me to obtain a SIM card and data plan in a new country.

Mark

[Canibul]

We're in agreement on the data plans. Something less than 30gig would be a lot more appropriate.

Whether or not the countries are in sight of each other has nothing to do with having to get a new SIM card every few hours or days. Do you really want to collect a new SIM card for every country you travel through? It's just one more thing to have to take care of on a list of things to take care of. I prefer shorter lists.


I think it would annoy me to be looking back at the island I just left, just across the way, and not be able to access my mail until I go through it again. Yesterday's SIM card, with the price tag still on it. And if it's after 5:00 or Sunday...maybe I don't want to wait until Monday morning. Or even until tomorrow.

Granted, cruising up and down the Lesser Antilles, never out of sight of a McDonalds, I might feel differently. As you already know, the Bahamas are a little bit different than Christianstead or San Juan.

[colemj]

Since we routinely cruise through several countries, having several SIM cards and taking care of them is not a problem. They just sit quietly in a small container and require no care or feeding at all. They aren't even proud enough to demand being included on a list. Inserting them in the modem has only been a problem when I had too much rum - but I probably shouldn't be emailing or writing on cruisers forum then anyway. Throwing them all out would only free up 1 cubic inch and lessen the load by 0.01 ounces.

Again, horses for courses, but $35/month vs. $199/month makes that little bit of space and weight priceless for us.

Mark

[Richard_W]

Looks to me that the plan is intended for "big cruisers" with "big families" and "fat wallets". It is okay, as mentioned in this topic, there is market for this and seems to be growing ... this could be an excellent business plan looking forward.

The only thing that irked me was the misleading advertisement ... this plan might be cheaper than some more expensive USA and CAN plans, but generally is not cheaper than USA and CAN plans, and seems to be (much?) more expensive than other Caribbean country plans.

[SaucySailoress]

Hey there,

First off, I'd like to welcome Den aboard as a new vendor - as most members know, we rely on our sponsors to help support the increasing costs of hosting CF as our numbers grow steadily, and it's always a bonus when they contribute to discussions positively. Thanks, Den!

Secondly, I'd like to make a small input, even though I'm slap bang on the other side of the world, and not likely to hit the Atlantic for a good few years, given that we'll be beating our way around the wrong way - unless someone nukes the Somali pirates of course - but that's for another thread...

Anyway, my husband and I both work online. Not as regularly and reliably as some vendors would prefer, I'm sure, but nonetheless I try. My husband and I would gladly snap up one SIM card that provided internet for the whole of India. In fact, we did. And roaming prices (within India) were almost four times what we pay for a local line. But it is worth having, so that when we move we can check emails when we reach within shore range.

So, yes - I would buy this package. And use some of my meagre commission to pay for it.

That said, we don't watch movies or whatever online. Between us, we use 5GB a month. I would like to see a develop which would allow rollover of credit for cruisers. MOST cruisers are on a tight budget (as are we... I wasn't joking when I said meagre)...

SO... would it be at all possible to offer a special deal to full-time cruisers. The 6 month deal at $282 per month for 70gb offers very little discount from the single month packages at $300pm for 60gb. Could you not squeeze a better loyalty package out of your company... just for us??? Pretty Pleeeease?

[Canibul]

yeah, us too. Pretty please. We'll sign up right away if you can do that.

Right now we're paying $125 a month for a landline we don't use for voice plus a DHL service for $85 per month. AND another $93/month for 10 gig on a SIM. So right now, we're paying over $ 300 per month, for ten gig mobile hotspot and a shore based land line. IF we could could reliably get 30 gig and take it with us everywhere for a hundred bucks LESS a month, we'd say hell yeah.

What some of the people here are missing is that for someone who earns a living on the internet, in addition to keeping in touch with five sons via Skype, and uploads photos to blogs, and who likes to download an episode of Dexter sometimes on a rainy afternoon.....it's not a bad deal.

for people who spend most of their time at home in North America or in an office environment, and only use the internet to check their emails from time to time and only boat during vacations, it's probably not very interesting.They'd LIKE to get away from the computer for that month. It's okay if you run out of time on a pre-pay and can just buy another one on Monday. That's NOT okay when you have a deadline on a project, and you really don't give a flying red rats patoot whether it costs twenty bucks or a hundred bucks, because your job depends on it and the data cost is minimal. An hour on the internet easily pays for a month. Running out of hours on the internet can make life very stressful if you're in this kind of situation.

It can be the difference between being able to work from your boat....or NOT work from your boat. That doesn't fit with a " Just a minute, boss, I gotta go find that guy from the grass shack over near the immigration office and see if he has another SIM to sell me...." approach. Different applications.

I get curious as to why people go onto these threads apparently to try to talk other people out of things. Its pretty simple...if you don't like it, or it doesn't work for you, don't buy it.

I wouldn't.....if I were you.

But I'm not, am I.