Does the system require an active subscription?

No. You can use the Vanemar Boat Monitoring system without an active subscription. But, without a subscription, you can only view the boat's status from Vanemar Mobile App over Bluetooth only when you are around your boat. To monitor your boat remotely from anywhere and receive push notifications and automated calls, you need an active Vanemar Connect subscription that activates the integrated global GSM connectivity of the device.