Kerala: 1,000-knot sat phone wonder

Sunil says the majority of the fishermen in Kerala usually go between 60 100 nautical miles where ISRO's NavIC satellite phones will be of use.

Update: 2018-02-22 20:31 GMT
Sunil Sabariar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sunil Sabariar, 38, an M Tech in Computer Science and Technology, belonging to fishing hamlet of Vallavilai in Kanyakumari, has been manufacturing 1,000-nautical mile wall mounted satellite phone, Automatic Identification System (AIS) GPS Navigator- since 2012.  During Ockhi, not even Coast Guard in Tuticorin had quality wall mounted satellite phone which could be used among fishers who were already in the deep sea. Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) satellite phones of ISRO Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, has only one-way communication, where currently 500 such satellite phones have been supplied to fishers in Kerala.

Son of the late A. Sabariar and late Carmelly, Sunil had got three lucrative offers to work in MNCs in the US during his stint with L & T, Mysore. But he was keen to give back something to his community, and after a stint with few Indian IT companies in Bengaluru, he returned to Vallavilai and launched Marian Soft in 2012. 

So far he has manufactured 180 satellite phones each costing Rs 36, 000 plus 18 percent tax which is being used by fishermen in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The GPS AIS Navigator is used to navigate the deep sea fishing boats, to display the nearest ships and boat information which will  help them send and receive the alert/rescue messages in an emergency where the fishing boat can be as far as 500 – 800 nautical miles away. “GPS Navigator is to display the accurate GPS location, Worldwide MAP, track and locate Gillnet and Longline with GPS buoys. When Ockhi had hit, Coast Guard officials utilised my service, and we were able to get in touch with 37 fishing boats and also warn about the cyclone in advance few hours ahead,” said Sunil.

His data communication system used by the fishermen will be received by other big vessels preventing them from hitting it as there have been repeated instances of ships hitting their boats killing them in the Indian coastal line including the infamous Enrica Lexie involving the Italian marines.  He says that fishers in Vallavilai and neighbouring seven parishes who are specialised in catching shark and tuna go to deep sea as far as Oman and beyond. Only the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy have got the license to use wireless satellite phones that are having frequency beyond 200 nautical miles. 

Sunil says the majority of the fishermen in Kerala usually go between 60 – 100 nautical miles where ISRO’s NavIC satellite phones will be of use. Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's scientific adviser M. C. Dathan, who was also the former director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre said several companies have come up with satellite phones for fishers. But they are exorbitantly priced. “When manufacturing in mass numbers, satellite phones should not be priced above Rs 5000. It is always reliable that a government agency that owns the satellite comes up with satellite phones. By early March, the next lot of 500 satellite phones will be distributed,” he told DC. Hopefully, in three months, KELTRON manufacturing NavIC will come up with the modified version having two-way technologies.

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