Your data subscription enables your Spotter(s) to communicate remotely with the Spotter Dashboard and the ****Spotter & Smart Mooring API, providing you with:

• Real-time data and GPS position
• Real-time system and health monitoring
• Sensor threshold alerts
• Over-the-air (OTA) configuration capabilities

Without an active data subscription, your Spotter(s) will continue to operate normally and store any collected data locally on its SD card (see Spotter Data Access).

In this guide, you will get more information about data subscriptions and learn how to view, manage, and renew them in the Spotter Dashboard.

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Table of Contents

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Understanding Spotter data subscriptions

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This guide covers data subscriptions for Spotters with a Cloudloop modem, for which Sofar manages airtime and billing. For all other Spotters, airtime and billing are to be handled directly with the VAR.

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Components

Data subscriptions consist of telemetry lines and satellite credits.

Telemetry lines

There are two kinds of telemetry lines available:

• Cellular lines: Enable Spotters to transmit and receive data using terrestrial cellular networks when available.
• Satellite lines: Enable Spotters to transmit and receive data using satellite communication in conjunction with satellite credits. They’re typically used as a fallback in case of cellular failure, for deployments outside cellular coverage, and for devices that do not support cellular.

If you are planning to deploy your Spotters within cellular range, we recommend getting cellular and satellite lines for each Spotter. This ensures seamless data transmission in instances where there is poor or intermittent cellular coverage. If a Spotter with active cellular and satellite lines loses cellular signal unexpectedly, it will automatically fall back to satellite service. Cellular service will resume as soon as a cellular signal is available again.

For Spotters deployed far offshore or in areas without cellular coverage, or for Spotters without a cellular modem, you will just need a satellite line.

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More on cellular connectivity: Cellular Support Documentation

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Satellite credits

Satellite credits cover the additional unit costs of messages sent by a Spotter via satellite. Whenever a Spotter transmits a message via satellite, satellite credits are used up.

Satellite credits are shared between all Spotters registered to your account with enabled satellite lines. They can be purchased as part of your subscription on a monthly basis or as needed (see Managing satellite credits).

The rate at which satellite credits are consumed is entirely dependent on the configured data mode and update rate (see Spotter Dashboard) of the Spotter and any attached Smart Mooring sensors.

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To adjust the payload sampling configurations of any Smart Mooring sensors, contact the Sofar Support Team.

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Pricing

Satellite cost estimator