How it Works

The reason XGate  works as well is does is because the technology used in the program is optimized specifically for E-Mail transfers.  Many of our competitors offer compression technologies that fail to perform as well as ours simply because they blindly compress everything that comes over the line.  XGate concentrates on optimizing only E-Mail transfers and it does a superb job at this. 

Most wireless technologies are basically simplex in the nature of their radio transmissions.  This means that when a radio (or sat phone) is transmitting data the full bandwidth of the channel is allocated for the one way transfer.  It takes a lot of protocol overhead and therefore time to reverse the direction of the communication channel.   This basic design feature of all wireless devices is counter productive when looking at E-Mail transfers.  The SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)  protocol that all standard E-Mail programs use defines a "chat" that requires about 10 line turn-arounds to complete.  That is 10 times that the direction of data transmission must be reversed to complete the transaction.  This "chat" kills the performance for sending mail via these channels.  Companies that concentrate only on compressing data and not limiting the number of line turn-arounds gain very little performance advantage when doing e-mail traffic.

XGate is designed specifically to reduce the number of line turn-arounds while additionally benefiting from compression. The proprietary E-Mail protocol eliminates almost ALL  line turn-arounds by sending large compressed streams of data to a server process running at our central location.  The server unpacks the data stream and then carries out the standard SMTP "chat" to send the mail.  Receiving mail uses the same wireless enhanced technology.  All incoming mail is collected by the server, packaged into one compressed stream of data and sent to the e-mail client in one unidirectional transfer.  The E-Mail client then parses through the data breaking it up into individual mail messages and then presents them to you for viewing.

This simplex optimization does not mean that you give up performance when using XGate on duplex devices.  With a simple setting XGate can be switched over to full duplex operation using the same reduced over head protocol as above but doing so while sending and receiving at the same time.  On Globalstar phones, for example, benchmarks show up to a 40% increase in performance running in duplex vs. simplex mode.

XGate Breaks the Satellite eMail Speed Barrier

On average XGate is about 10 to 15 times faster than our competition when it comes to delivering E-Mail.  Customers routinely receive over 30 e-mails in less than 1 minute over satellite connections.  The E-Mail transfers "cook"!

Here is a product comparison that proves the point.

Supported Wireless Technologies

Full Seamless DES/PGP Public Key Encryption and Digital Signatures

XGate seamlessly integrates full DES/PGP encryption/decryption into your messaging through your e-mail client such as with Outlook Express. Send and receive E-Mail messages with the confidence that only encryption can provide you. Encryption of incoming and outgoing e-mail is one click away.  Simply e-mail your public key to a remote party and start receiving confidential securely encrypted mail immediately.  When an encrypted message arrives simply push a button on the tool bar, enter your secure private key, and read your message.  To send an encrypted message simply compose the text as you normally would, hit the encrypt button, and then push the send button.  Management of public keys is simplified via seamless integration with the address book.  Public keys received via e-mail can be entered into the address book with the push of a button.  Encrypted E-Mail security has never been simpler! Learn how to encrypt e-mail with XGate's e-mail client iScribe.

Satellite SMS Service Fully Supported

SMS stands for Simple Message Service.  This service provided by Iridium and Globalstar satellite companies allows users to send very short textual messages to it's subscribers for free.  GMN uses this feature to inform it's users that mail has arrived for them at the central mail server.  Knowing how many messages are on the server saves our users money since they don't have to call in to "see" if they have received mail.  The SMS service is included as a standard feature in our e-mail package and is provided at no additional cost.

Web Mail Access

GMN provides web access to user mail boxes as a standard feature.  While away from their vessels users can log into our mail web server to receive their mail.  Additionally the web mail server allows users to customize service side filtering rules which dictate which kind of messages should be directed to their wireless account and which messages should be left on the server.  This server side filtering allows users access to large e-mails with attachments and/or HTML content with out "bogging" down their wireless connections. 

Virus Scanning and Spam Filtering

The XGate server scans every incoming and outgoing mail message for viruses and/or spam.  This protection not only gives the users one more weapon to defend himself against destructive e-mail viruses but also removes unwanted content eliminating the expensive air time charges required to receive these unwanted e-mails.

E-Mail Filtering

Mail filtering is an important component of the XGate mail system which removes undesired content from mail messages before they ever get delivered. Two types of email filtering are used by XGate  to reduce the overhead of undesired emails destined for a wireless account.

Server side mail filtering applies a set of simple yet powerful mail filtering rules to mail that arrives on the server for a user before it gets delivered to his wireless mailbox.  User accounts by default are preconfigured with two basic filters, one which filters by the size of the incoming message and one which filters mail by HTML content. 

The default for the size filter is set to 50 Kbytes and is fully customizable by the user. Mail messages arriving that are larger than the configurable cutoff size are redirected to a special "Big Mail" box which is accessible via the servers webmail interface and are not transmitted to the user via the wireless device.  Grandparents on the road, for example, can receive baby pictures of their latest grandchild without the overhead of long expensive airtime charges.  The baby pictures are stored on the server for retrieval at some later convenient time using their web browser over a standard internet connection.

HTML filtering is also customizable by the user and removes all HTML content sent to the wireless device.  Plain text embedded in the e-mail is sent to the user along with a message stating that the HTML content has been removed. The original unadulterated message is stored on the mail server for later viewing over the internet using a standard web browser and the XGate's  webmail program.

Unlike server side mail filtering which happens before e-mail is delivered to a users mailbox, client side filtering works on messages which have been delivered to the inbox but before they are transferred via the wireless device. The XGate client allows messages which are larger than a certain customizable size to be tagged on the server and not downloaded via the wireless device.  Users can specify that a few lines as well as the header of large mail messages be retrieved while the bulk of the message is left on the server. Once the mail header and a few lines of the mail message are examined, the user can then specify that the message be deleted from the server without ever retrieving it, or if the mail is important, to mark it for full download on the next connection.  As in server side mail filtering, messages stored on the server can also be accessed with a standard web browser via the internet.

Crew Accounts

Full support for managing crew e-mail accounts.  Learn more about crew accounts.

Vessel Tracking

Full featured vessel tracking with on vessel reports can be purchased as an option.  XGate also includes a GPS repeater which allows several applications on a PC to share the same GPS concurrently.  Learn more about XGate's vessel tracking.

Networking

XGate is a full fledged E-Mail server supporting full POP and SMTP protocols on a local LAN.  This means that on larger vessels crew and passengers with computers hooked up to the ship's local area network can send and receive wireless mail from the comfort of their cabin.  One instance of XGate is run on the communications officers computer.  Crew and passengers use the local area network to send and receive their e-mail using a standard e-mail client running the POP and SMTP protocol to the communications computer where the messages are stored for later transmission.  At some time in the future the communications officers use XGate to send all queued e-mail via the wireless device to the internet.  Any mail waiting on the mail server is then downloaded for all members of the crew and stored locally on the communications PC.  At their convenience the crew then use the LAN and their PC's to retrieve their personal mail.

Certification and Awards

Review XGate's awards and certifications on our certification page

Press Releases

Iridium Value-Added Developer Introduces Automatic Vessel Tracking Service
Cruise Ship Installs Iridium E-Mail Service to Provide Ship-to-Internet and Intra-Ship Communications in Polar Regions
Globalstar Boosts Data Capabilities with OCENS Offering
OCENS/Globalstar Press Release

Testimonials

Here is what some of our customers have to say about the service

On XGate over wifi

Just wanted to thank you for XGate. I am using it for all my internet e-mail including Iridium, cell phone, internet cafe and WiFi.

I find that XGate is quick and will pass the internet and WiFi firewalls when Outlook will fail or time out.

I was surprised with the WiFi. I have been able to e-mail with some very poor quality WiFi links were both Explorer and Outlook will time out but XGate will get through. It may take several try's but it usually works.

Thanks for the great product, it more than pays for itself.

Bill Stockton
S/V True Love
Petersburg, AK

Ocean Frontiers 1000 Hour Day Expedition (www.1000hourday.com)

As you both know, your XGate & iScribe software worked brilliantly for Clark
and I while we were on our Ocean Frontiers 1000 Hour Day Expedition on
Victoria Island over the last few months. Many people have been letting us
know how much they enjoyed being able to follow our progress via the
updates.

200' Commercial Vessel Owner on Maiden Voyage from Taiwan to Yucatan, MX

 LUIS:

TE ENVIO UN SALUDO DESDE MITAD DEL PACIFICO (03° 00.00N - 134° 52.93E).
NUEVAMENTE DE DOY LAS GRACIAS POR TU APOYO PARA LA CONEXION DEL TELEFONO
IRIDIUM, HA FUNCIONADO MUY BIEN NO HE TENIDO NINGUN PROBLEMA PARA BAJAR
LOS REPORTES METEREOLOGICOS, NI PARA EL ENVIO Y RECEPCION DE CORREOS,
VERDADERAMENTE ES UN GRAN APOYO, EFICIENTE, CONFIABLE, RAPIDO Y BARATO.

UN ABRAZO.

EDUARDO ALFARO

Bruce Schwab on Oceanplanet

 "Global Marine Network's suite of products have eclipsed all other weather data acquisition and at-sea communication programs available for today's mariners. From 'WeatherNet', which puts virtually ALL the useful weather data in the world (WeatherFax, GRIB, Quicscat, and more.) at your fingertips, to 'XGate' which is an incredibly efficient email conduit for low-bandwidth communications, to 'XWeb' which allows efficient internet access (even on Iridium!), this group of products work together most impressively. For me they are now essential tools on any offshore passage."

-- Bruce Schwab, Skipper, Ocean Planet---first American to officially finish the Vendee Globe (solo, around the world, nonstop), and now GMN/OCENS dealer. (see www.bruceschwab.com or email bruce@bruceschwab.com).

and

Hello Bruce,

Welcome back and congratulations on your finish.

You have set a new xgate Iridium record. 32 e-mails in 53 seconds.

--luis

Transaction log...

Fri Feb 25 13:32:31 2005 [57896] passwd file: logged in haji IRIDIUM_ASYNC0
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] cmd: "xget 0"
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] Processing mail for haji /home/haji
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109336729.M944850 1096
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109336750.M166316 1827
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109336753.M383496 674
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109336759.M384245 925
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337543.M996395 3052
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337544.M842255 841
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337548.M16741 911
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337549.M719777 1108
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337552.M823031 860
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337553.M930985 960
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337557.M72692 1371
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337558.M161576 645
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337560.M367256 807
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337562.M18562 21053
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337565.M53658 23924
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337566.M151556 819
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337569.M714224 2931
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337570.M146150 752
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337574.M255596 613
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337575.M232270 1181
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337578.M383060 777
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337579.M872122 1499
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337583.M42495 825
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337584.M623028 958
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337587.M632049 573
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337587.M731951 3727
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337591.M512222 637
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337592.M709532 2810
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337595.M242015 704
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337596.M458329 645
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337598.M806921 815
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] hdr: 1109337966.M173964 1876
Fri Feb 25 13:32:33 2005 [57896] Sending server.x.bz2 14567 32
Fri Feb 25 13:33:26 2005 [57896] ACK
Fri Feb 25 13:33:27 2005 [57896] Done processing mail for haji

Jean Silverwood on Emeraldhane

Hello Jean,

You just downloaded 328 e-mail messages in 7:10 seconds. You averaged  47 e-mails per minute for the transfer!  You transferred 1.6 Mb worth of data for an effective baud rate of 36kb... not bad for a phone that is only rated at 9600 baud and downloading a pile of small messages.

This is not the fastest we have seen with XGate (Large files transfer at a higher effective baud rate) but given the large number of small messages you had this is quite an impressive figure.

and

[XGate] Its an awesome program and when we are ready to get back on a boat I will be
sure to contact you again. Glad to see your selling the phones now too.
Its much easier to deal with one company that knows what they are doing. I
found the companies that sold the phones separately had trouble diagnosing
the problems with the software and the hardware and would definitely give
you the runaround. You were the only one who got the thing working
properly.
 

From Polly Vacher, Wings Around the World

I just want to say a huge thank you for your wonderful sponsorship enabling
me to send e-mails via my satellite phone. This has been and still is a
fantastic help to me, and in Antarctica, I don't know how I would have
managed without it.

I do hope that you have seen my website www.worldwings.org

and...

Dear Luis

Thank you so much for helping me out of a hole yesterday. Especially as it was the middle of the night for you. I do so appreciate it.

I have relied heavily on your sat phone connection as AOL is useless in many parts of the world! It was silly of me to think that someone in a hotel business centre could fix up an AOL link without effecting the GMN link. I have learnt my lesson. In fact, he didn't link me to AOL at all, and just messed up my GMN link too.

You may have discovered that I am virtually computer illiterate, and just use it as a means of recording my diary and sending and receiving e-mails - BUT it IS my lifeline and it has been wonderful.

So, so relieved to be back on line - thank you

Polly

Jonathan Selby Director of Software Development for Xaxero LTD while on S/V Anahera using an Iridium Satellite Phone

Performance of new XGate is tremendous. When handling a large amount of text based mail it just flies. It is way better than calypso [Fastmail] ever was. I did 20 messages in under a minute today. You are definitely on to something here and I think we have a winner.

and

Congratulations - I believe you have the best compression and throughput available anywhere and endorse your product with confidence.

Bob Knaus on S/V Pellucid

Luis - just got done downloading messages of 1.9M and 2.4M in a single
Globalstar session. I must say, your compression scheme does work well!
That would not have been possible in the marginal reception area of Ft.
Lauderdale with the Calypso wireless client.
 

Bob - Very happy to hear that the compression works so well for you. Here are the entries in the logs. Note that the 2.4M file was compressed to 450K and the 1.9M file was compressed to 208K. Total transfer time was 11 minutes which is an effective baud rate of about 64Kb for this particular transfer. This same transfer with Calypso Wireless would have taken 75 minutes!

Bob Wilkins

Just wanted to drop a note to you that the e-mail system is really really working great. The speed is nothing short of fantastic. Using Verizon cell, or Verizon wireless card, or Globalstar, or my "home wireless system" .... All work with such speed it is amazing.

You should be selling this system to every boat that floats around the world !!!!!!

Chris Parker on S/V Belami

E-mail is FAST! There was nothing in my GMN box, but the call
was connected and disconnected in just 3 SECONDS!

XGate (OCENS.Mail) over GSM/GPRS

On the good reports to you for your use: I now have the latest Vodafone "3G" card and service. It is surprisingly available in Italy, and even for some distance out at sea (once at 9 miles out). When 3G is not available, I have set the program to drop to GPRS. With both of these services, the strength of the signal varies up and down. Ocens ALWAYS finds a way to work with the available signal. The Vodafone client allows me to watch up and down bits. Ocens seems to get through when there is no up/down bits. If I were you, I would make known how Ocens can work better with available wireless (cellular) frequency far better than anything else. IE, for example, tends to sniff her nose at the signal and say "no thanks" until I get out the whip.

Bill Bane

Jon Selby after installing multi-user XGate Pro on the M/V Polar Star cruise ship (http://www.polarstarexpeditions.com)

The local mail delivery is tremendous and a very powerful communication  tool and has really made them very happy. It certainly impressed me.