Red Sea Internet Access

When I travelled to the Phillippines, I found that smaller Internet cafes would let you plug in a laptop, while bigger, more automated ones would not. I don't know how similar Turkey is, but I suspect it would be.

You may want to investigate Turkey's cellphone provider and whether they have data services. Taking an iPhone might work, but make sure it is jailbroken and can operate on the local data networks since AT&T international roaming can cost more than a small boat ... And I am NOT kidding!

I think the best answer would be one of those new cellular WiFi hotspot systems. You would need one from AT&T or T-Mobile because cellphones outside the USA are GSM, which AT&T also uses. Remember my notes on AT&T data roaming.

Finally, our friends at Inmarsat want to help us with an "affordable" Internet connection at sea. For just $4,250 for the device, and economical data packages starting at only $3,200 a month for 324mb of data. Yes, they really do say it's affordable in their literature! Contact your Inmarsat rep for details on this exciting opportunity! It might cost more than a top-end Apple laptop per month, but the good news is that it will work.

Hope that was an interesting overview.

One short follow-up: I did a little more research, and found 3G Internet access will be available in Turkey "later this year" (as of March), so an unlocked, 3G-capable phone or cellular hotspot would probably be your best bet for email access there. There are three vigorously competing GSM providers so it looks like service rates should be at least somewhat affordable. I know that 3G service in the Philippines last time I checked was still metered, not flat rate, but not too expensive if you were traveling as opposed to doing work that required Internet access. So again, Turkey might be similar, although that's just a guess. As I said in my previous message, you need GSM, which in the USA is either AT&T or T-Mobile.

If you knew Turkish, this web site might provide the information you need:
Avea 3G
It certainly had some entertainment value even if I didn't understand a word! I'm pretty sure you need Flash to make any sense out of it, though.

This was the least difficult to understand of the three company pages - looks like this is the 3G page but the rates are still opaque to me :-(.
http://www.vodafone.com.tr/Internet/kampanyalar-tarifeler.php

All Turkish cell providers are here:
GSM Coverage Maps | Turkey

Hope that helps.

It really is a pity INMARSAT is not a shade more reasonable with their pricing. I knew someone years back with a 120' motor yacht with it who said service was great, but I'm sure even he shuddered to pay his bill every month. If my memory serves, back then it was $12 per minute connected to the Internet, and speeds were only 56k!

D