June 2, 2010 14:15
Rich,
I'm sure you're right, but I suspect a significant number of those are corporate users - I know both of my life's major employers used them extensively in their overseas operations - and still grumbled about the cost. Many more are on the mega yachts on Roche Harbor and elsewhere... Not many with the 'common' cruiser. If you look at the SSCA equipment survey (last in 2008), only about 15% have sat phones, a little over half of which are Irridium. Compare that to nearly 80% that have some sort of hf radio (ham or ssb). The survey is not a perfect source of data but probably the best you'll find for this.
Scot
I'm sure you're right, but I suspect a significant number of those are corporate users - I know both of my life's major employers used them extensively in their overseas operations - and still grumbled about the cost. Many more are on the mega yachts on Roche Harbor and elsewhere... Not many with the 'common' cruiser. If you look at the SSCA equipment survey (last in 2008), only about 15% have sat phones, a little over half of which are Irridium. Compare that to nearly 80% that have some sort of hf radio (ham or ssb). The survey is not a perfect source of data but probably the best you'll find for this.
Scot