By Dean Takahashi
June 12, 2006
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

CELL PHONE RECEPTION EXTENDING TO HIGH SEAS
Dozens of Cruise Ships Offering Wireless Access

June 12, 2006 - Cruise ships have been a haven as one of the few places in the world where workaholics could get away from the perpetual ring tones of cell phones.

Not any longer. For good or bad, cell phone reception is coming to the high seas thanks to a combination of new wireless radio and satellite technologies. About 30 ships already have the cell phone access, while an additional 20 will have it by year end.

"If your mother calls you and you are on a ship on its way to Antarctica, for all she knows you are at home, except for the chattering teeth," said Patrick Manuel, director of information technology for Island Cruises, a cruise line based in Miramar, Fla.

The ships use technology from Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture of cell phone service provider Cingular Wireless and Maritime Telecommunications Network. For each cruise ship, the provider deploys about 60 antenna throughout the ship that can provide the access for the cell phones. Those antennas transmit the calls to the ship's satellite transmitter, which then transfers the calls into the cellular network.

Manuel says that he got a query from a ship's captain about whether the cell phones could have worked on the ocean in 2002. The ships were already using satellite communications to provide Web access for on-board Internet cafes and expensive ship-to-shore calls that cost about $15.99 a minute.

Early technologies didn't have good antenna reach, because a ship's steel bulkheads could interfere with the radio signals, said Rob Marjerison, general manager of Wireless Maritime Services. Each ship costs about $300,000 to outfit, so the technology is impractical for the smallest vessels, Marjerison said.

The phone calls cost $2.49 a minute, which is the cost of roaming in international territory. The cruise lines don't charge extra for the calls, but they do get a cut of the revenue from the cell phone companies.

The question is whether passengers will like the access, or fret about how it is nearly impossible to escape work and cell phones now.

"That was something we considered," Manuel said. "It was a difference of opinion. Would it increase or decrease customer satisfaction? The fact is nobody will go on vacation anymore without their cell phones. All this has done is extend its reach to the cruise ship."

He added, "We are preparing ourselves for the future. If a restaurant doesn't want you to use it, then they can ask you to turn it off. We see it the same way."

Based on the volume of calls on cruise ships so far, the technology is a big hit, Manuel said.

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