The HubbaX4 Go and Duo models are the latest in the Buzz Marine range, providing a superfast 4G broadband solution to support devices at sea.
Up to 32 Wi-Fi devices can connect simultaneously to the flexible HubbaX4 Go unit which is able to operate on the 4G, 3G or 2G networks and provide up to 100Mbps download speed.
The Hubbax4 features a high powered MIMO (multiple input and multiple output) antenna which is housed in a small, easy to install, IP67 certified casing providing protection from the extreme maritime elements. The antenna is connected to a HubbaX4 router located below deck to create a Wi-Fi hotspot. The unit also has an RJ45 port for wired network connectivity.
The vessels, belonging to four of the regional IFCAs, are used to help ensure the authorities take a leading and effective national role in fisheries and conservation management.
“The regional IFCAs play a very important role in championing and managing a sustainable marine environment and inshore fisheries and it’s imperative the crews have reliable voice and broadband data connection while they are on patrol,” said Steve Smith, Buzz Marine managing director. “The HubbaX4 Go is designed and built specifically for the rigors of the marine environment and will provide the IFCAs with a cost effective alternative to maritime satellite communications.”
The four IFCAs which have so far installed the Buzz Marine HubbaX4 Go are:
Cornwall, which has the system on its 27m patrol boat Saint Piran, built by Damen shipyards in 2000 which acts as mother vessel to a 6.5m RIB.
In Sussex, the Buzz Marine system is installed on the authority’s fisheries patrol vessel Watchful, which is used as an integrated enforcement and survey vessel.
Eastern IFCA operates two patrol boats, both of which have Buzz Marine’s system installed. FPV John Allen is an 11m Redbay cabin rib which is used to patrol the coastline of the Eastern IFCA district of Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk out to six nautical miles. The system is also fitted to Eastern IFCA’s survey boat, RV Three Counties, which is used by officers to conduct inspections and foot surveys of the cockle and mussel beds.
The North East IFCA has the system installed on its modern purpose built patrol/research vessel North Eastern Guardian III which operates from the port of Whitby, North Yorkshire. The vessel has been designed and equipped to operate as a state of the art research/monitoring platform and is also equipped for acoustic ground discrimination, sub-sea surveying and biological/benthic habitat assessment.
