Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT) is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications.
The company was created in 1979 to provide global safety and distress communications for the maritime community. Starting with a customer base of 900 ships in the early 1980s, it grew rapidly to offer similar services to other users on land and in the air, until in 1999 it became the first intergovernmental organisation to become a private company. In June 2005, the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange, with the ticker symbol ISAT.
Today it stands at the forefront of mobile satellite communications, capitalizing on more than 27 years’ experience to deliver global voice and broadband data solutions for use at sea, on land and in the air.
Inmarsat operates a constellation of 10 geostationary satellites that deliver phone, fax and data communications to every part of the world (excluding the polar regions). The advanced capability of its latest-generation Inmarsat-4 satellites – the world’s largest and most sophisticated commercial communications satellites – extend the boundaries of 3G networks to areas with unreliable, insecure or non-existent telecoms infrastructures. Two Inmarsat-4 satellites are currently in operation, and the company has recently announced plans to launch a third.
The company’s services are used by governments, international aid agencies, and a wide range of commercial sectors – including the media, oil and gas, construction, finance, maritime, and aeronautical industries.
Inmarsat delivers its services through a global network of partners; such as BT, France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications, KDDI, SingTel, Stratos/Xantic, Telefonica, and Telenor. The distribution network includes more than 440 service providers.
For the year ended 31 December 2006, Inmarsat plc had total revenue of US$ 500.1 million.
Inmarsat at sea
Inmarsat continues to be the leading provider of global satellite communications to the maritime industry – including the merchant, fishing, leisure and government sectors. Through its Fleet family of services, Inmarsat meets the varied needs of the maritime community for voice and data communications.
Fleet 77 is Inmarsat’s flagship maritime service, and offers a single dedicated channel of 128kbps ISDN. It provides vessels with faster remote network access, faster access to IP services, and improved functionality for videoconferencing, ship management applications, online chart updates and weather information, vessel telemetry, email and other data communications.
Inmarsat’s maritime services are deployed by a broad range of users: for example, Ellen Macarthur, who used Fleet to support her record-breaking round-the-world voyage; the competitors in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-6, who used the F77 128kbps service for their voice and data communications; the hospital ship Esperanza del Mar, which uses two F77 terminals to achieve data speeds of 256kbps, in support of vital healthcare programmes; and the Panama Canal Authority, which is using Inmarsat C to help schedule vessels’ transit through the world’s busiest waterway.
Inmarsat on land
During 2006, Inmarsat introduced its newest service, Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN), around the world. BGAN is an all-in-one solution that offers voice and broadband data connectivity through a highly-portable terminal. It delivers standard IP connectivity at up to 492kbps, guaranteed data rates of up to 256kbps and circuit-switched voice at cell phone quality.
Quick to deploy, BGAN establishes essential communications wherever they are needed. It can deliver secure and on-demand access to telephony, VPNs, file transfer, videoconferencing, email and the Internet to multiple simultaneous users in a mobile environment. The service has been used by international broadcasters for live news reports, by aid agencies in relief efforts and crisis response, by the world’s leading oil and gas companies at exploration sites, and by governments in emergency response. To date, BGAN has been used in more than 170 countries.
Inmarsat has also announced a collaboration with ACeS, the leading Asian hand-held voice satellite services operator, to combine resources to offer low-cost hand-held and fixed voice services, initially in the Asian market with extended coverage expected in mid-2007.
Inmarsat in the air
Inmarsat’s aeronautical services provide inflight connectivity for the cockpit, cabin crew and, increasingly, passengers. Safety communications provided by Inmarsat are installed on most long-haul aircraft, and the company’s services are also used extensively by business and government aircraft.
Activations of Inmarsat’s Swift 64 service, which is used to deliver voice and data connectivity at 64kbps to aircraft, are growing strongly. The next generation service, SwiftBroadband, is planned for introduction in late 2007.
Through distribution partners, Inmarsat’s aeronautical services are at the heart of new solutions to enable inflight use of GSM mobile phones. A number of airlines have announced trials or plans to install Inmarsat-based GSM services. http://www.inmarsat.com
