The Panbo Forum

Return to Panbo Forum main page »

Fixed Gear, New & Future
New Topic
Adam

FB150 pricing -- I don't get it

By Adam on Jul 29, 2009 at 5:35 PM 3 Vote 0 Votes

So I just got an email today from KVH, letting me know that the FB150 is now available, with per-megabyte prices running from "only" $12 to "as low as" $8.

Compare that with mini-VSAT. The equivalent mini-VSAT speed (mini-VSAT is available in a variety of speed tiers) is 128 kbps up/down. "Unlimited" mini-VSAT usage at that speed costs $1,500 per month. (Unlimited is in quotes because there are usage limits; KVH just doesn't tell you what they are, it seems, until you exceed them.) That equates to about 188 megabytes of FB150 downloads, a very easy number to reach (your average JPEG photo is probably 300k, so browse a few galleries of the kids and you're done).

Alternatively you can pay for mini-VSAT by the MB as well. It's download speed is about 6 times faster than FB150 (KVH claims 1 Mbps) and the cost is $5. That latter rate, by the way, includes the otherwise $30,000 mini-VSAT hardware.

Now, it should be noted that mini-VSAT's south Pacific coverage seems weak (it's hard to tell by the published maps, which appear incomplete) compared to FB150 which looks pretty global. But if you are coastal cruising or in the Med or Atlantic I don't understand why anyone would go with FB150 over mini-VSAT. Any thoughts?

/adam

3 Replies

  • Adam
    Adam | July 29, 2009 5:47 PM

    By the way, the FB150 rate sheet is here:

    http://kvh.com/pdf/DS_InmarsatFBBAirtimeRates.pdf

    And the mini-VSAT rate sheet is here:

    http://www.kvh.com/pdf/DS_TPV7_AirtimeRates.pdf

    A couple of notes looking at these:

    • The lower FB rates are only achievable if you use *exactly* the number of megabytes per month that you sign up for based on the plan. Go over and you are paying $11.85 per additional megabyte; go under and you have unused megabytes.
    • The per-megabyte rate with no contract is $13.50
    • FB requires a 1-year contract for its lower-usage plans and a 3-year contract for its highest usage ($8/MB) plan
    • mini-VSAT requires a 3-year contract for all of its leased-equipment rates
  • Ben E
    Ben E | August 3, 2009 9:06 AM

    I don't follow your logic, Adam. Of course VSAT is a better deal if you really want a lot of offshore (or exotic shore) Internet speed and data AND you can afford the huge monthly service/lease rates AND you have room for the dome. That's why VSAT is so popular with megayachts.

    Fleet Broadband is quite a different animal, especially in this new 150 size range. I think that KVH's new pricing policies are very interesting, and will appeal to some "middle class" cruisers who want the ability to get online or make calls anywhere but are willing to use the service sparingly most of the time.

  • Adam | August 5, 2009 4:00 PM

    Ben:

    Your point about dome size is well taken; I wasn't thinking about that.

    And you are probably right that FB150 rates are acceptable for limited usage. If my usage was that limited, thought, I might try going with something that does not have a stabilized antenna, like BGAN. Apparently N62 Seabird used it on the GSSR and had reasonable success given that its not made for marine use. But for a relatively low $450/mo you get data at about $5/MB on a small and pretty inexpensive dome. Plus claimed BGAN coverage is more or less global.