As many of you will remember, all GLA customers were encouraged to migrate from DirecTV Puerto Rico services to DirecTV Trinidad/Tobago services at the start of the 2014/2015 winter season in the Caribbean as DTVPR was ceasing to offer programming options for the Caribbean footprint. This was met with some customers experiencing great delays in account set up and activation as well as some billing changes enforced by DTVTT - namely full 12 month fees, without option to suspend.

This 2015/2016 winter Caribbean season is expected to be seamless as far as reactivations are concerned for returning DTVTT customers.

The team at Axxess Marine is committed to keeping our DTVTT clients and customers informed. As details are confirmed by service providers, or when additional information regarding the future of service is readily available, we will continue to share it. We’ve done some investigating and while there is relatively little information available regarding the changing matrix of DTVTT, we do have a few items we believe are worth sharing:

• A new satellite was launched last January at 95*w which will eventually replace the existing G3C satellite we’ve been using for the Caribbean beam. The new unit is not in full commission as yet but expected to be so by April 2016.
• Currently there is not any concrete data on the footprint coverage for the new satellite. However, we have been advised that the coverage area will be substantially smaller with the beam directly over Trinidad/Tobago. It has been implied (and I strongly stress IMPLIED) that the fringe to the north will cut off at about St Maarten/Antigua.
• Further, as the new satellite is KA Band technology, customers may eventually have to upgrade/replace antennas over time to keep up with pending technology changes. Please contact your TVRO installer for more information on this point.

Axxess Marine is actively investigating new, innovative solutions to provide to our clients in the near future but we want to make sure to keep you informed as the new season draws ever closer.

With the changes to the satellite coverage and beam and the recent take over by AT&T of DirecTV - DTV Trinidad have also made changes to their programming options. There has been some loss of programming - namely the NFL Sunday Ticket, some sports channels, some HBO programming and the movies channels. To view a complete list of their current programming click here. Further, unless you are in the immediate Trinidad/Tobago area you will not acquire HD programming. Pricing to be advised.

We appreciate some customers will not find these recent changes acceptable and therefore we’ve been taking steps to put together other options for those clients looking for an alternative. Axxess Marine is offering IPTV solutions (streaming TV) which will give our customers programming anywhere in the world. The vessel may cruise without need to change LNBs or receivers, however this is dependent on consistent data signal of 2mg down for quality picture, whether pulled from your VSAT or the cellular data network. The complete list of available channels can be seen by clicking here. More information on our basic channel line up and monthly pricing packages is available by contacting Andrea at andrea@axxess-marine.com.

As most of you are aware, Axxess Marine is a data services company first. We provide excellent data services throughout the Mediterranean, Caribbean and USA. As well, we provide complete hardware and installation/integration solutions for data service routers, antennas and any needed miscellaneous hardware.

Given that the communication world continues to evolve at a high rate, it is imperative that we continue to be at the forefront of cost effective and innovative solutions for our clients. Please let us know if you are interested in learning more about our data services or IPTV solutions. As always you can email me at andrea@axxess-marine.com