With a strong wifi signal and a trusty smartphone, it’s easy to stay connected on land — but how do things change when people are sailing the oceans or orbiting in space? They’re both extreme scenarios, but one is much more familiar to us than the other. Which is better for communication? Navigation technology provider Global Navigation Solutions investigates who can communicate better — crew members on ferries and passenger ships, or astronauts?
The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 advises that ship operators should give their crew “reasonable access to ship-to-shore telephone communications, and e-mail and internet facilities, where available, with any charges for the use of these services being reasonable in amount”. But just how closely are operators following these guidelines?
Between April and August 2015, the 2015 Crew Connectivity Survey was carried out to establish what crew communications at sea are really like, across all industries. A total of 58% of respondents said they had access to crew communications all, or most, of the time, a 2% rise from 2014. However, 35% of respondents only have access sometimes, while 7% have never had access during their time onboard. Although this may seem a small percentage, it equates to 103,000 global seafarers who have no way of contacting loved ones – up 25,000 since 2014.
According to the report, 79% of surveyed crew members had access to satellite telephone for voice calls, making it the most widely available method of communication. Meanwhile, 43% had internet access, 42% had access to text-only e-mails, 24% could use SMS messaging, and 28% relied on GSM, a mobile telephony system, while onboard their ships.
On land, we can stay connected almost anywhere, with the exception of mountain peaks and remote locations, but it’s a very different story at sea. Just 36% of crew can access communication services from their cabin, while 47% must do so from the ship’s bridge, 35% from communal areas, 29% from an onboard office and 13% from the engine control room.
However, only 18% of crew members said they had unlimited access to these services, while 26% said they aren’t able to use them regularly. According to 59%, such services are too expensive and 27% said their use was hampered by too many people are trying to access the services.
Clearly, cost is a major drawback for many crew members. However, crew do get free access to text-only e-mail (53%), internet access (49%), e-mail with attachments (49%), video chat (41%), SMS messaging (24%), onboard GSM (12%) and satellite phone (7%).
Crew are able to stay in touch with family and friends when the ship is in port. However, 72% never or rarely go ashore during port calls and just 6% are able to go ashore on every port call. Around 28% of those who go ashore use crew welfare facilities while in port, with 34% using internet or wifi services, 6% using telephones and 4% purchasing local SIM cards for mobiles.
Around 32% of officers always have access to crew communications, compared to 27% of deck ratings – mariners without a certificate of competence.
So, how effective has the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 been? On the whole, the majority believe crew communications has improved. However, 39% said it had not improved since it was introduced and 3% said it had even got worse.
On average, respondents spent over seven months per year at sea. A mission to the International Space Station (ISS) lasts around six months. Yet, despite being in the earth’s atmosphere, crews are often less connected than astronauts in orbit.
In 2010, NASA enhanced the quality of life of astronauts with the release of a special software update that allowed them personal access to the internet. Expedition 22’s Flight Engineer, T.J. Creamer was the first to use the intergalactic internet, posting the following tweet: "Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station - the 1st live tweet from Space! :) More soon, send your ?s"
In 2015, astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted while in space: “We have a slow internet connection. Worse than what dial-up was like. Using it to answer your question right now”. While the internet may ease the isolation of space, it doesn’t offer the quickest connection, as a result of the distance signals have to travel.
When an astronaut in space clicks a link, the request travels 22,000 miles to a network of geosynchronous satellites. This is passed to a receiver on the ground before being passed back to the astronaut’s laptop or tablet.
According to NASA spokesman, David Steitz, astronauts have laptops onboard, including one in their personal sleeping quarters. They are also given tablets so they can video chat with family and friends at home. Astronauts can also make phone calls from space using Internet Protocol signals that are routed from space to Earth via Softphone software on their laptops. This allows astronauts to dial numbers using the laptop keypad and speak through a headset. Nevertheless, there is often a lag in conversations owing to the distance, or the space station going out of range of the phone call signals.
So, who has the better deal in terms of communication? The availability and cost of using at-sea communication services differ according to ship operators, while only a small proportion of crew members can make private calls. Astronauts can access e-mails and social media, or make video and phone calls at no extra cost while in space. Laptops also feature as standard in their personal sleeping quarters.
The results are definitive; despite being 400km away from Earth, ISS astronauts are better connected than sailors who travel the 361 million square km of our planet’s oceans.
Emma Mark is the product marketing manager at Global Navigation Solutions