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Travelers in remote locations who do not have access to
normal and reasonably priced communication facilities can seek digital radio communication support
in a number of ways.
Commercial Carriers: The first and traditional line of defense, at least for those with deep (financial) pockets, are satellite communications. These are good for voice but often useless for digital radio communications. During emergencies such systems are easily overburdened. Sophisticated communication satellites can also fail without warning. This was shown by the recent failure of Intelsat’s 804 satellite over the South Pacific. This unexplained system failure left a large geographic area, in this case several South Pacific island nations and parts of New Zealand, without satellite voice or digital communication support. Also, the large communication providers, like Globe Wireless, are geared towards large commercial users like the merchant marine fleet. They have little or no interest in supporting small vessels at sea or outback travelers. SailMail. The second option for digital communication support is a “not-for-profit” digital communication system named SailMail. It is especially geared towards the recreational cruiser. At last count it had 16 ground relay stations of which half are located in North America. The remainder are evenly spread with one station each in Africa; Asia; Australia; Central America; Europe; North Pacific; and South America. The advantages of SailMail are: (a) that it may be used for commercial purposes; and (b) does not require an amateur radio license for on-air use. SailMail allows an average “connect” time of ten minutes per day. It is run by a dedicated team of communication professionals and sailors. SailMail is also the developer of the freely available AirMail software that is used by Winlink as well as SailMail Users. The subscription cost for SailMail is at present US$250 per year. Winlink. Winlink was set up and is operated by and for radio amateurs. It is an all-volunteer service. It serves both recreational cruisers and land-based travelers. It has at present 45 ground stations of which 27 are in North America. The remainder are distributed around the world with 5 stations in Australasia (Australia and New Zealand); 1 in Africa; 1 in Asia; 4 in Central America; 5 in Europe and the Middle East; and 2 in the North Pacific. It does not have a station in South America. (Two additional stations are planned for Australia.) Winlink allows a “connect” time of 30 minutes per day with each PMBO that can be contacted. In accordance with amateur service regulations it is not allowed to be used "to advance the pecuniary interests of users”; meaning – don’t use it for commercial purposes. It is run by some of world’s top experts in communication technology and software and hardware development. The service is provided for free to all comers.
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