Internet aboard and working from the sea: Starlink and beyond
Starlink, 4G/5G and routers: what internet aboard really costs, its power draw, and how to structure a reliable remote-working day at anchor.
Working from a boat with a reliable connection is now routine: a 4G/5G base with a router and external antenna covers most coastlines for 30 to 80 euros a month, and Starlink brings broadband almost everywhere for 300 to 500 euros of hardware plus 50 to 100 euros a month depending on the plan. The real constraint is no longer connectivity: it is power and organisation.
What remote work at sea actually demands
A video call needs a stable 3-5 Mbit/s, not 100. What kills a working day is not average bandwidth but the drop at the wrong moment: a 4G cell handover, the boat swinging at anchor and masking the signal, low batteries shutting down the router. Think in terms of reliability: two independent links beat one fast link. Add the physical setup — a braced workstation (chart table, saloon), shade on the screen, a decent headset — and a clear agreement with your employer or clients about hours: weather windows and anchorages are now part of your calendar. Plan a fallback ashore as well — knowing the café or coworking space at the next harbour turns a technical failure into a minor inconvenience rather than a lost day.
The coastal base: 4G/5G, data plans and routers
Within 10-15 miles of the coast, 4G/5G does the job very well. The effective kit: a dedicated 4G/5G router taking two SIM cards, an external antenna at the masthead or on the arch — the gain is real, often two to three bars better than a phone in the saloon — and two generous data plans from different operators. Budget: 150 to 400 euros of hardware, 30 to 80 euros per month. When cruising internationally, watch fair-use roaming policies: "unlimited" plans never truly are abroad. Mount the antenna as high and clear as possible — rigging and radar arches create shadow zones that show up later as mysterious slowdowns. This kit integrates naturally with the rest of the installation described in our guide to onboard electronics.
Starlink: real costs and power consumption
Starlink changed the game: genuine broadband (often 50-150 Mbit/s) at anchor and offshore alike. Costs to plan for: antenna 300-500 euros depending on the model, roaming subscription 50-100 euros per month depending on plans and regions, noticeably more for true offshore packages. The point sales brochures rarely dwell on: power consumption. Count 20-40 W for a Mini antenna, 50-75 W for a standard one — that is 40 to 130 Ah per day at 12 V if it runs through the whole working day. Without a battery bank and solar production sized accordingly (energy on board), Starlink turns a connectivity problem into an electricity problem.
Making it reliable: combining links and managing power
The robust setup used by floating remote workers: Starlink as the primary link, 4G/5G as automatic failover — good routers switch on their own — and phone tethering as the last resort. Switch the antenna off at lunch and outside working hours: half the consumption evaporates. Schedule big transfers and updates for full-sun hours, when solar covers the draw. Keep a local backup discipline: the cloud does not forgive dropouts. And power everything at 12 V directly or through dedicated converters rather than a large inverter: efficiency is better and the installation simpler. A small buffer battery for the router avoids reboots when you switch power sources mid-call.
A typical working day at anchor
7:30 am: weather, anchor check, battery level. 8:00: first deep-work block, antenna on. 12:30: antenna off, swim, lunch. 2:00 pm: video calls scheduled for early afternoon, when solar output peaks. 5:30 pm: end of day, backups, everything off. This rhythm is not anecdotal: liveaboards who work (see living aboard full-time) all converge on highly structured days, because the boat interrupts — a dinghy to manage, a neighbour dragging anchor, a squall coming through. Your safety margin is organisation, not bandwidth. Keep offline copies of the day's key documents, and warn colleagues that you may occasionally reconnect from a different link.
Where to start
- Measure your real need: minimum bandwidth, video calls per day, how much downtime your job tolerates.
- Start with the 4G/5G base and an external antenna: the best reliability-per-euro for coastal cruising.
- Add Starlink if you work at anchor or beyond mobile coverage — after an honest audit of your electrical budget.
- Double everything: two links, two operators, a power bank for the laptop.
- Test a full working week aboard before making commitments to an employer or client.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Starlink cost on a boat?
Count 300 to 500 euros for the antenna depending on the model (Mini or standard), then 50 to 100 euros per month for a roaming subscription usable in coastal areas, and noticeably more for genuine offshore plans with priority data. Add the hidden cost: power consumption, which often means upgrading solar and batteries by a few hundred euros.
Can you work remotely from a boat at anchor?
Yes, and thousands of cruisers do it. The conditions: a redundant connection (Starlink or 4G/5G with an external antenna, plus a backup link), an electrical budget that covers router, antenna and laptop all day, and strict organisation — a safe anchorage checked in the morning, calls scheduled during solar-production hours, systematic local backups.
What is Starlink’s power consumption at 12 V?
A Starlink Mini draws roughly 20-40 W, a standard antenna 50-75 W. Over an 8-10 hour working day that represents 40 to 130 Ah at 12 V — the equivalent of a second fridge aboard. Hence the two habits of experienced users: switching the antenna off outside useful hours and sizing solar accordingly.