Swarm data plans and per-country availability

SPARK-X
1

The link provided on the new https://www.sparkfun.com/products/19236 page (the new Swarm M138 satellite transceiver breakout) for the data plans ( https://swarm.space/swarm-data-plan/ ) is broken, clicking on that redirects to the main swarm.space page.

Does anyone have an alternative link for the plans and are they available worldwide? Last time I checked (months ago) they had limited coverage in Europe. They also sell the M138 in packs of 25 on their site, can we activate a data plan for a single device (the M138 breakout from Sparkfun)?

Thanks,

Razvan

2

As per https://spacenews.com/swarm-reveals-prices/ , Swarm is only licensed to operate in “the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Germany, Sweden, Antarctica and over international waters”. Has this changed since then (Sep 2020)?

3

Hi Razvan,

Excellent point! We will ask Swarm for an official answer.

The Pass Checker thinks you are covered, but we’ll check.

Very best wishes,

Paul

4

Hi,

Before registering the device, I want to spend some time in a receive only mode to monitor beacons in many locations. Is it possible to disable transmission when a beacon from a SpaceBee satellite is received? I would not like to start the actual data plan until I have done a thorough investigation of reception.

Thanks,

Alan

BTW: I’m located in Canada and I am pretty sure we are ok for using these M138 devices

5

@alien1 : you’re crossing the streams! :wink: Please ask your question in a new topic and I will answer it there.

@drazvan : I’m waiting for an official answer from Swarm. Meanwhile we’ve updated the product page and hook-up guide with “how to register your modem” links. I note that Romania does appear in the drop-down list of countries for Hive registration.

Very best wishes,

Paul

6

Hi Razvan,

Swarm say:

"we do have global coverage over all regions, but there are regulatory restrictions for specific countries. The current list of approved countries for the M138 Modem is Antarctica, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, UK, US, and International Waters (12 nautical miles offshore).

We do not currently have commercial approvals for Romania, but devices can still be tested there.

We are continuing to grow the list of approved countries as quickly as we can. I can send you updates as we continue to add more countries, and we also regularly update our customers using our newsletter. "

I’ll add this information to the product page and hook-up guide.

Very best wishes,

Paul

7

Hi Alan / @alien1,

We should discuss this in a separate topic, but - long answer short:

  • Canada is indeed covered.

  • You can check the background signal level and the received signal strength from passing satellites via the $RT message.

  • AFAIAA you do not need an active data plan to use $RT.

    • Best wishes,

    Paul

    8

    Hi

    Checking on same lines i have got a swarm M138 for testing and i am in India . trying to connect it to hive to send some message. Swarm pass checker shows tht satellite indeed passes from india but i am nt sure it can be used in india yet . Please clarify