Utilising new technologies and communication whilst travelling, surfing and enjoying Indonesian waters

About the Client

Indies Trader was the first and original surf charter boat operation in Java and Sumatra.

Today, they continue a tradition of excellence spanning over 20 years complimented by the safest, most experienced, and knowledgeable surf charter fleet and crew on the planet.

The management and crew have lived and operated in Indonesia for over 30 years and have a unsurpassed knowledge and experience as to the surf and conditions. This means they consistently out perform all others in the quantity and quality of ncrowded surf. This is a trend that Indies Trader has delivered and continue to deliver to our loyal customers. (90% repeat, some have been every year for 10 years).

The fleet is based in Sumatra Indonesia with logistics bases in Padang, Sumatra and administration services in Perth, Western Australia.

Project Overview

The client has a number of Inmarsat Fleet Broadband Terminals from AST Networks Australia for the smaller vessels in their fleet.

However their requirement was to meet the demands of the clients and crew for an always on connection rather than pay as you go as with fleet broadband. Size and location of antenna was also a key factor as space is always a premium on vessels.

Client Requirements

The client needed the ability to manage the communication cost on board each of their vessels, not only were the crew utilising the system but also their clients and customers.

A solution was needed that allowed an always on connection with a fixed monthly cost similar to what you would pay for land broadband.

The connection also needed to be able to handle variable usage, as when clients and customers were on board usage would become unmanageable compared to just crew using the system. Overall, the client needed a fixed monthly bill with a system that could handle optimise usage.

Our Solution

The customer wanted a fixed price per month service so he could manage and budget his vessel communication costs. We provided a 128k VSAT link from the vessel using a Thrane & Thrane Sailor VSAT 700.

The vessel is operating in Indonesian and Australian waters. Furthermore the service was able to be installed by the client while adding to the ease and cost of installation.

Business Benefits

The best of breed technology behind the SAILOR 700 VSAT enables a wealth of real world benefits. The foundation for this is the small, lightweight antenna, which enables a significant reduction in hardware and installation costs, without compromising performance. The size of the antenna (small compared to other VSAT’s) also was a key advantage due to space being a premium on the vessels.

The client embraces the utilisation of new technologies and communication whilst travelling around Indonesian waters. The operator embraces Apple Mac technology and has been able to setup a network of computers whilst also ensuring minimal cost is obtained even though a large amount of data is been sent by the crew and his clients and customers.