DUBAI, 20 December 2005 — Inmarsat has launched its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service with the Middle East being the first region to benefit from the new communications offering. Delivered via the world’s largest and most sophisticated satellites, BGAN is the first mobile communications service to provide affordable voice and broadband data services simultaneously at speeds of up to half a megabit per second through highly portable, easy to use terminals. This is a state-of-the-art service covering all communications applications.
“Where we are coming from now is moving beyond how people traditionally view satellite communications,” said Paul Griffith, vice president, Product Management and Marketing, Inmarsat. “There’s this mystique about satellite communication that it involves complicated, difficult, proprietary big equipment. Inmarsat is moving to a new approach. ‘Broadband for a mobile planet,’ is very much about making satellite communication a part of everyday business. Our new services are all about simple IP connection. If you can use a PC, you can use our devices.”
With Inmarsat’s BGAN service, users can set up a broadband mobile office in minutes — anywhere on the planet. Anyone who needs dependable, secure broadband access when traveling to locations with unreliable or no telecommunication networks will now be able to reap the benefits of mobile satellite communications. Supported by powerful Inmarsat-4 satellites, BGAN service covers 85 percent of the world’s landmass, or 98 percent of the world’s population, making the land-based BGAN service virtually global.
“BGAN is a breakthrough in satellite communications, with no comparables, delivering the first global broadband mobile office for users anywhere in the world,” said Andrew Sukawaty, chairman and CEO of Inmarsat.
BGAN provides users with an integrated solution for voice and broadband data by allowing for these services to be used simultaneously through a single compact and lightweight device at speeds of up to half a megabit per second. The voice channel is an important component, including direct dial voice service, simultaneous voice and IP data sessions, conference call ability, call waiting, and voice mail. The voice capability will also support Bluetooth headsets. Currently, voice services require the use of a satellite terminal in conjunction with another device. Within three years Inmarsat plans to introduce a stand-alone handheld device for voice services.
Currently, BGAN is accessible via a range of small terminals that have been designed for maximum portability. With the smallest terminal weighing less than a kilo, BGAN terminals are lightweight, compact and can be carried as easily as a laptop. Their user-friendly design requires no specialist technical knowledge for setup and use. Terminals can be connected quickly and easily to a laptop or multiple laptops via wired or wireless connections, including Bluetooth or WiFi. All terminals are robust enough to withstand challenging environments and extreme temperatures. The same device can be used worldwide and the user interface is standard across all terminals. There are four terminals that have been developed by different manufacturers offering a variety of performance options to suit different operational needs.
“There has been an effort to bring in new, low-cost entry level terminals so the BGAN service can be accessible to all users, from private individuals through enterprise customers,” Griffith said. “The Wideye terminal starts at about $1,500 up to the Hughes terminal which will market at $3,000 or a bit more. The devices weigh from just under one kilo to about 2.8 kilos. In terms of performance, the top-of-the-line Hughes terminal offers 492 kbit/s send and receive in standard IP. You can run simultaneous voice and data sessions. This means you can make a phone call at the same time you are e-mailing or downloading from the web. The Hughes device allows a company to run the service for 11 people simultaneously and connect them to it with a standard Ethernet cable or it has a wi-fi hub or USB connection so it’s very flexible. These devices allow the use of a Bluetooth enabled phone from up to 30 meters distance from the terminal for voice connection.”
The launch of BGAN follows the recent launch of the second Inmarsat I-4 satellite. Together with the first I-4 satellite introduced in March 2005, the I-4 satellites are the largest and most sophisticated commercial satellites ever built and serve as switchboards in the sky for BGAN. Initially accessible in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, BGAN coverage is expected to be available in North and South America by mid 2006, empowering users with virtually global coverage.
“Launching the BGAN service in the Middle East first is a testimony to Inmarsat’s commitment to the region’s end-users,” asserted Samer Halawi, regional director, Inmarsat Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. “BGAN is highly welcomed by our customers in this part of the world including media organizations, corporate executives and construction personnel who often need web or phone access in isolated areas.”
For the last 25 years, Inmarsat’s services have been relied upon by the world’s shipping, oil exploration, defense and aviation industries to service their communications needs. Inmarsat is also the communications channel of choice for the media when reporting from the world’s danger zones and for NGOs, government agencies and the United Nations when coordinating rescue efforts, such as for the recent earthquake in south Asia and Hurricane Katrina in the United States.
Griffith explained that in developing the flexibility and usability requirements for the BGAN product offering, Inmarsat worked with many past customers who had demanding requirements for global mobile communication. Even the pricing for the service was built around customer requirements. Inmarsat went through a process as well, where the technology aspects of BGAN were field tested with customers. Even now the company is anxious for customer feedback in order to tweak the service, if necessary.
“When developing BGAN our aim was to create a real world service,” said Griffith. “In part, that meant creating a cost effective service. The cost of using BGAN data services is no more than you would pay for using cellular 3G roaming data services and it can be even cheaper. BGAN is competitively priced for anyone who needs a portable solution in a global scenario. In terms of voice services, the cost of a mobile to mobile, or mobile to fixed call using Inmarsat is expected to be less than $1 per minute globally.”
BGAN will be available through select distribution partners and service providers in more than 180 countries. Visit www.inmarsat.com for more information on Inmarsat’s enabling of Broadband for a Mobile Planet.
(Comments to [email protected].)
