How Boats and Commercial Vessels Get Reliable Internet at Sea
Offshore Wi-Fi on boats and ships comes from satellite: Starlink Maritime (Starlink’s service for boats and ships) or older ship satellite systems, often called VSAT, plus 4G/5G cellular when you’re near the coast. Ships get reliable internet by using more than one of these at the same time.
Speedify combines Starlink Maritime, VSAT and 4G/5G cellular into one reliable internet connection for boats, yachts and commercial vessels. When the main satellite internet connection drops because of weather, a blocked dish or the Starlink dish switching satellites, Speedify moves all traffic to the internet connections still working, without cutting off calls or data already in progress.
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Why Internet at Sea Is Harder Than Internet on Land
Boats and ships have internet problems that don’t exist on land. The farther from shore a vessel goes, the fewer internet connections it can get, and the ones it can get drop more easily than their land versions.
- Starlink Maritime covers open water, but the Starlink dish switching satellites causes short drops, and bad weather weakens or cuts the signal.
- VSAT is another satellite option, but in most conditions it’s slower than Starlink and has a longer delay.
- 4G/5G cellular works near the coast and in port, but coverage fades fast as a vessel heads offshore.
- The signal changes all the time: the dish’s angle to the satellite shifts as the boat pitches and rolls, cellular coverage changes along the coast, and weather that weakens satellite signals can arrive quickly at sea.
With a single internet connection at sea, you live with these interruptions. With Speedify combining several internet connections, the vessel’s traffic moves between them automatically, based on how each one is working right now, without cutting off calls or apps in use.
Speedify on the Water: How a Sailing Couple Live Streams Their Trip Around the World
Gaspard and Tallulah from Awkwards Travel, a sailing couple who live aboard and live stream their trip around the world, talked about their Speedify setup on the Speedify LIVE show.
When he goes ashore or streams away from the boat, Gaspard uses a smaller setup: a phone, a hotspot and Speedify to combine the cellular connections he has. He says it gives him more freedom to move and a stronger internet connection than heavier dedicated streaming hardware.
On the boat, their setup combines Starlink with SIM cards in a LiveU, a dedicated device for live streaming over cellular.
Sailors working remotely from boats in the Caribbean also use Speedify, combining Starlink with several 4G/5G cellular connections to keep video calls for work clear from the water. Read more about the Awkwards Travel sailing and live streaming setup.
Speedify vs Multi-Connection Router Boxes, Compared for Boats and Ships
| Feature | Router boxes that combine connections (Peplink, Teltonika and similar brands) | Speedify |
|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A router box for every site or vehicle | A software subscription per user, running on devices you already have |
| Typical entry cost | From roughly $500 for an entry-level cellular router to several thousand for a unit with several SIM slots, plus a subscription to the maker’s cloud service | $89.99 a year per user, billed yearly |
| Internet connections combined | Ethernet, Wi-Fi and cellular, limited by how many SIM slots the model has | Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular and Starlink, up to 31 connections |
| Top combined speed | Around 200 Mbps through the maker’s cloud service on common models | 300 Mbps on shared servers, up to 1 Gbps on a Dedicated Server |
| Fixed (static) IP address and port forwarding | A paid add-on to the maker’s cloud service | A Dedicated Server or Self-Hosted Server add-on, from $75 a month |
| Managing many devices | The maker’s own dashboard | The Speedify Teams dashboard, with usage for each device and an API for managing accounts |
| Moving between sites or vehicles | Ship or reinstall the router box | Sign in on another device |
| If you do want hardware | Required | Optional: a Router License on a compatible OpenWrt router, or the Miri X510 |
How Speedify Works for Internet on Boats and Ships
Speedify’s technology for combining internet connections runs on the vessel’s router or on each crew member’s devices, and uses every internet connection at the same time: Starlink Maritime, VSAT, 4G/5G cellular from one or more carriers, and Wi-Fi in port or near a marina. Speedify checks the speed, delay and drops on each internet connection all the time and spreads the traffic to match.
You choose how Speedify uses the internet connections in the Speedify app. When calls and data can’t drop, choose Redundant Mode: it sends the same data over every working internet connection at once and uses whichever copy arrives first, so internet phone calls, video meetings and business data keep going when bad weather or poor coverage weakens one internet connection.
When the crew wants the most speed for browsing, streaming and calls home, choose Speed Mode instead. It spreads traffic across every working internet connection, for nearly their full combined upload and download speed.
Which Internet Setups Work Best on a Boat or Ship with Speedify
- Starlink Maritime plus 4G/5G cellular. The best setup for most vessels. Starlink Maritime is the main internet connection, and 4G/5G cellular from one or more carriers adds speed and backup near shore. Within cellular range, Speedify uses both for faster uploads and downloads. Beyond cellular range, Speedify sends all traffic over Starlink automatically.
- Two Starlink dishes. Vessels that need the most speed and the fewest dropouts on open water can run two Starlink dishes with Speedify. Speedify uses both at once while both work. When one Starlink dish loses its signal because something blocks it or its hardware fails, the other keeps going.
- Starlink plus VSAT. Vessels that already have a VSAT system can combine it with Starlink using Speedify. The two use different satellites, so a wide Starlink outage doesn’t take both down. Speedify spreads the traffic and switches between them automatically.
- Marina Wi-Fi in port. In port or at a marina, marina Wi-Fi becomes one more internet connection alongside Starlink and cellular. Speedify uses all three for crew internet during stopovers.
How to Install Speedify on a Vessel
Option 1: Speedify for Routers, for the whole vessel
- Connect your Starlink Maritime dish, VSAT modem and any 4G/5G cellular adapters to a Miri X510 router or a compatible router running OpenWrt (free router software) installed aboard.
- Install Speedify on the router with the Speedify install script and activate a Router License. Plug each internet connection into its own port on the router.
- Set connection priorities in Speedify: Starlink to Always, 4G/5G cellular to Always or Secondary depending on your data plan, and VSAT to Secondary or Backup (used only when the others drop). Speedify then switches and spreads traffic automatically.
- Every device on the vessel’s network (crew laptops, phones, navigation systems, cameras) uses the combined internet connection without Speedify installed on each one.
Option 2: Speedify Teams on each device
- Install the Speedify app on crew devices. Connect each device to the Starlink Wi-Fi and to 4G/5G cellular through its own SIM card or a hotspot. Speedify uses both automatically on each device.
- Manage all crew devices from the Speedify Teams Dashboard.
Who Uses Speedify for Internet at Sea
- Commercial and charter vessels. Ferries, charter boats and commercial fishing boats that need to give crew and passengers reliable internet in all conditions. Speedify combines satellite and cellular on the router, so every device on board benefits.
- Sailors and cruising liveaboards. People living aboard need reliable internet for remote work, video calls, navigation updates and staying in touch with family. Speedify combines Starlink with 4G/5G cellular for an internet connection that holds up near the coast. Offshore, beyond cellular range, it runs on Starlink alone.
- Live streamers and content creators on boats. Streamers and documentary crews broadcasting from vessels need steady upload speed. Speedify combines every internet connection available and uses Streaming mode to put the stream first.
- Marine research and survey vessels. Research vessels send data to shore teams as it’s collected, and Speedify keeps them online across Starlink and VSAT.
- Offshore platforms and support vessels. Platforms and support vessels that use Starlink Maritime with cellular backup run Speedify on the router, which covers every device and system on the platform from one place.
Speedify Plans for Boats and Ships
For individual sailors and small boat crews, a Speedify Individual or Families plan includes everything above: combining internet connections, Redundant Mode and Streaming mode. Speedify Individual costs $89.99 a year, or as little as $4.99 a month on a 3-year plan.
For commercial operators, charter services and businesses running several vessels, Speedify Teams manages every vessel’s devices and crew accounts from one dashboard, with usage for each device and an API for managing accounts automatically. Speedify Teams costs $89.99 per user a year, with a 5-user minimum.
For vessels that need a fixed (static) IP address to reach onboard systems or monitor them remotely, Speedify Dedicated Servers give you a managed private server with up to 1 Gbps. For operators that must control where their data goes, Speedify Self-Hosted Servers give full control over the server’s location and setup.
For vessel operators and charter companies: Speedify can combine Starlink, VSAT and cellular across your fleet. Contact Us to plan the setup.
For sailors and liveaboards: Download Speedify to use Starlink and your phone’s cellular data together on board.
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