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Industry News - 2002 |
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The official launch of Regional BGAN marked the start of the Inmarsat European Conference, held in London and attended by over 180 LESOs, Distribution Partners and ISPs.
 18 November saw not only the commercial launch of Regional BGAN, but also the launch of an incentive
program for Partners called Rally Together, designed to incentives sales of Regional BGAN in the immediate post-launch period.
The official conference program included presentations from Inmarsat managing director Michael Butler, Regional BGAN commercial launch director Gill Govier, and corporate marketing director Steve Rogers. Breakout sessions covered Fleet services, GAN MPDS, GMDSS and Swift64, as well as Regional BGAN, giving many Partners their first opportunity to see a live demonstration of the new service.
Copies of the presentations from the conference are available in the connect forums page.
Regional BGAN showcased at major trade events
Inmarsat and Distribution Partners have been demonstrating the capabilities of Regional BGAN at a number of trade exhibitions around the world. From 21-25 October Inmarsat joined Morsviazsputnik at Moscow’s Infocom IT and telecoms show. Morsviazsputnik is following up over 100 sales leads generated by the exhibition.
Inmarsat then teamed up with France Telecom to attend the Euro Banking show, held in Frankfurt between 28 and 31 October – the first time Inmarsat has exhibited at a show aimed at the financial sector. There was a lot of interest in the system from visitors to the Inmarsat stand, and Inmarsat has subsequently fixed meetings to discuss the potential of Regional BGAN with around 20 top banks. “It reinforced our view that the banking and finance sector will be a good one to target with Regional BGAN,” says Emma Hughes, Regional BGAN marketing manager.
Immediately before the commercial launch of Regional BGAN came AFCOM, an IT and telecoms show staged in Washington between 11 - 13 November, in which Inmarsat took a stand in conjunction with Stratos. The target audience was African companies based in the United States, or those traveling from Africa to visit the show. Simultaneously, Inmarsat shared a stand with AST at the World Travel Market held in London from 11-14 November, where again there was tremendous interest in the new IP service.
“A lot of visitors at the various shows knew little about the capabilities of Regional BGAN, so we were able to explain exactly what the service can offer,” says Emma.
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New Fleet manufacturers
 Two more Inmarsat terminal manufacturers have added Fleet F77 terminals to their line-ups. They are Sailor, one of the best-known maritime electronics providers, with an established line of Inmarsat terminals, and STN Atlas, which also has a strong base in the maritime market, particularly in the government/military sector.
The launch of the new terminals reflects the rapid take-up in the Inmarsat Fleet F77 service since its launch in April this year.
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The 2003 Inmarsat Fleet Conference is due to be held from January 22-23 in Hamburg. It will cover the exciting shipping applications for Inmarsat Fleet, the new ship/shore communications technology that allows 'always-on' data connections at low cost, as well as lower cost, higher bandwidth ship/shore data transfer.
This will be the first conference in the series to address the wider Fleet Family, including F33 and F55.
For more details and to book, go to: www.thedigitalship.com
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The Inmarsat Crew Calling initiative has had a rapid take-up with
ship-owners, managers and vessel operators.
It helps enable crew members to make personal calls to family and friends, away from the comms facilities on the bridge, using pre-paid phone cards.
Inmarsat Universal Crew Calling is based on an easy-to-install, solid-state phone system which can be connected to existing Inmarsat equipment such as Inmarsat B, Inmarsat M, mini-M, and Fleet F77. The use of a pre-paid calling card system also reduces the administrative burden on ship operators.
The Crew Calling kit is available free-of-charge to any owner, manager or vessel operator who buys a minimum of US$1,000 worth of pre-paid cards from their ISP or LESO. For more information, visit the Crew Calling microsite on the Inmarsat website at
www.inmarsat.com/crewcalling.
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Following a six-month project to improve the reliability and availability of GAN MPDS, performance has been “markedly improved” and the service is now significantly more robust.
Following feedback from Partners, Inmarsat formed a 'Tiger Team' during summer 2002, made up of Inmarsat staff and a number of key Partners, to tackle the main issues.
The main performance issues were quickly identified and, where possible, manual 'workaround' solutions and additional monitoring were put in place to keep the network as stable and available as possible.
The priority was to fix a problem affecting the channel units that uplink the signal to the Inmarsat satellites. These had a tendency to freeze without generating alarms to the operational staff, so in October, all channel units worldwide were upgraded. Since then, the problem has not reoccurred.
Problems affecting the host software in the Satellite Base Stations (SBS) were also fixed. Upgrades to the SBS host software carried out in early November have resulted in a much more stable MPDS network. Work has also been carried out on the VPN (Virtual Private Network) control software, which links the SBS with all the other elements of the network, principally, the LESO elements. Work is ongoing to increase the monitoring and resilience of the VPN, and to that end, a VPN control software upgrade is scheduled to take place in early December. In addition, a
program has been initiated to add new, additional monitoring tools to the VPN.
The work carried out so far has allowed Inmarsat to begin work on the longer-term issues of increasing the capacity of the network and
maximizing its efficient utilization. In addition, Inmarsat is supporting the LESOs with some of their key customer projects, many of which involve remote, unattended, automated terminals where there is a high reliance on service availability and automated control from the customer's central computer. Inmarsat is very keen to support additional projects that the LESOs can bring to us, and to develop the necessary additional support tools for these applications.
Many thanks to our Partners who have supported us in making these improvements to the MPDS service.
For further information about MPDS, please e-mail Dale_Irish@inmarsat.com
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Inmarsat used the SMM 2002 exhibition in Hamburg to announce two new additions to the Fleet family of services, Fleet F55 and Fleet F33. They follow the successful commercial launch of Fleet F77 in April this year. Both Fleet F55 and Fleet F33 are set to launch during Q1 2003.
 With an antenna size of around 55cm and
33cm diameter respectively, both Fleet F55 and F33 are aimed primarily
at small-to-medium-sized vessels, and particularly at the yacht
market, where there is no deck space for larger antennas.
Inmarsat Fleet product manager Chris Insall points out that they are expected to find uses on larger vessels too.
"We tend to find that when solutions are aimed at a particular vertical market, there are always spin-offs," he says. "Our mini-M system is aimed at smaller vessels, but is often installed on larger vessels as a second system, and we are confident the same will happen with Fleet F55 and F33. We are already seeing a lot of interest in F55 from specialist government sectors."
Both Fleet F55 and F33 will allow smaller vessels to benefit from voice, e-mail, and secure Internet and Intranet access, plus a high-quality fax service, allowing crews to operate a mobile office at sea.
Fleet F55 offers 64kbit/s Mobile ISDN or MPDS in spotbeam coverage areas, plus global voice coverage, while F33 offers up to 9.6kbit/s data in spotbeam areas, and global voice coverage. Low-power MPDS is planned for Fleet F33 in the future, along with a variety of value-added data services.
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Dear Partner,
I am delighted to officially invite you to Inmarsat's European Regional Conference, to be held here at City Road, London, from the 18th - 20th November 2002.
Historically, we have held a single, annual Inmarsat Partner's Conference, at which we unveiled our strategic plans for the coming year. However, following feedback from the Partners at last year's annual conference, we have held a number of Regional Conferences throughout 2002.
The objectives of these conferences have been to;
deliver content and presentations that are more directly tailored and relevant to each region
encourage greater attendance across a broader range of functions with our partners
allow interactive discussions at a more tactical and detailed level to take place so we have a better and more detailed understanding of what partner needs and requirements are within specific geographic markets.
The feedback we have had from the Regional Events this year is that we have gone a long way to achieving these objectives.
The final Regional Conference of 2002 will be the European event. This event is aimed at LESO's and European based ISP's. The event will start with an evening drinks reception on the 18th to celebrate the official launch of Regional BGAN. The following two days will involve both plenary and interactive sessions — where we will look at the business of 2002, as well as looking forward to the plans for 2003.
Please find below the agenda and registration documents. I look forward to welcoming you to the conference and to an exciting year ahead.
DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION and BOOKING FORMS (PDF)
DOWNLOAD AGENDA (PDF)
Yours sincerely,
Michael Butler
Managing Director
Inmarsat Ltd
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Inmarsat has announced a new crew calling phone which, it says, will help address many of the barriers to crew calling, such as lack of private crew equipment and service administration issues. This is part of a wider initiative which will also see many partners offering reduced call charges based on calls during 'off-peak' hours using prepaid satellite phone cards starting from 1st October. One of the first of these is a mini-M Bonus Time promotion being offered by MVS Group.
The Inmarsat Crew Calling Phone is a one-box solution including phone, restrictive autodialler and installation cable kit. By connecting the Inmarsat crew phone to the ships existing Inmarsat B, M, mini-M or Fleet F77 terminal, crew are given access to the Inmarsat global satellite network. This removes the need for the
ship-owner or captain to monitor calls, as the connection is made via the Land Earth Station Operators (LESOs) pre-paid card platform.
The off-peak billing tariffs will operate during defined periods of between four and eight hours in each Ocean Region (OR) for all voice traffic travelling across an Inmarsat network, with the exception of Inmarsat A. This allows seafarers greater value for money when they telephone home during the quiet hours in each region, and provides a very competitive and cost effective solution. Cards will be purchased from the
ship-owner or ship's master, allowing crew cheap and flexible access to a communication system.
In order to allow ship-owners to regulate the use of these services and associated costs, the Inmarsat Crew Calling Phone requires a two digit code which gives the caller access to the network. This allows the ships captain to control access to the crew calling facilities, and to override any calls in case of emergencies or priority voice traffic without having to have the terminal on the bridge of the ship.
A number of Inmarsat LESOs have expressed an interest in offering an Off Peak Pricing Initiative and it is they who will determine the final call tariffs. Partners will also provide Inmarsat with reports on the success of the initiative, allowing Inmarsat to use this information to continue to develop services that respond to and benefit the market.
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Inmarsat's new Satellite Control and Network Operations centers at Inmarsat headquarters in London will be officially opened on 8 November by Lord Sainsbury, Minister for Science and Innovation.
The centers are the heart of the Inmarsat operation. The Satellite Control Centre is the command centre for all Inmarsat satellite launches and for the satellites' subsequent working life. The Network Operations Centre monitors and manages the Inmarsat network for the provision of traffic over Inmarsat satellites. Both are manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Inmarsat Partners will not see any change in the day-to-day operation of Inmarsat products and services with the switch to the new control
centers, but they will play an important role in the ongoing provision of future Inmarsat services.
"The new centers are packed with the latest technology in readiness for the Inmarsat I-4 satellites and the next generation of Inmarsat services," says Richard Denny, Vice President, satellite and network operations. "They are the heart of the network and we have made a substantial investment to ensure they remain at the forefront of satellite communications technology."
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Inmarsat will be sharing a stand at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show with US manufacturer and distributor KVH. The show takes place from 31 October to 4 November at six venues in Florida.
The show is a key event for the
super yacht market, so Inmarsat will be making the most of the opportunity to highlight its Fleet F77 service offering, and the newly unveiled Fleet F55 and F33 offerings.
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On 6 November, Inmarsat is staging a free one-day Swift64 Aero Data Workshop at the Pan Pacific Singapore Hotel in Singapore. The workshop will demonstrate how to specify, use and install Inmarsat's new aeronautical 64kbit/s data service, Swift64.
 Leading avionics manufacturers, application specialists and Inmarsat personnel will be on hand to discuss the issues and solutions in fitting 64kbit/s data to an aircraft or fleet.
The workshop will include separate presentations for air transport, corporate and government users, focusing on the specific application needs of each group. It is ideal for anyone considering adding 64kbit/s services to an existing Aero-H installation or planning new installations and applications for Inmarsat Swift64 ISDN or Packet Data services.
On the night before the seminar, Inmarsat will be holding a reception and buffet dinner at the Pan Pacific Singapore Hotel for all delegates attending the workshop. This will be an ideal opportunity to meet and network with other delegates and workshop presenters in a relaxed atmosphere. Inmarsat cordially invites all delegates to attend this event.
For all enquiries regarding the workshop, please contact Sharon Whyne in London:
e-mail: sharon_whyne@inmarsat.com or
Tel +44 (0) 20 7728 1740.
The closing date for registrations is Friday 25 October.
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Inmarsat has introduced the LINK program designed to assist professional application developers and solution providers in bringing their technologies to market.
The program offers members early information access to technical developments from Inmarsat and, in some cases, the wider telecommunications and IT industry.
There is also the prospect of collaboration and help for deployment or further development of products, showcasing of successful product implementations on the Inmarsat website and at exhibitions that Inmarsat attends, plus an invitation to participate in new service launch activities.
In addition, LINK program members will be offered access to test-beds at Inmarsat's London headquarters from Q1 2003.
To register for the LINK program e-mail:
ainslie_craig@Inmarsat.com
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News of an important maritime mini-C type-approval in Russia, a GMPCS
license awarded to Soremar in Morocco, telecoms legislation in Bulgaria and developments in Cote d'Ivoire [Ivory Coast] and Zambia.
Russia:
Russia's Department of Transport and Maritime Registry has
awarded Inmarsat mini-C a type-approval certificate. Maritime mini-C can now be imported
into the country and used on merchant marine and fishing vessels.
The main interest in mini-C in Russia is for tracking and monitoring. Subject to IMO approval next year, mini-C may also receive authorization in the future for use as a GMDSS-compliant mobile earth station.
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Fleet F55 and Fleet F33, the new members of the Fleet family
See them together for the first time at SMM Hamburg,
Hall 9, Stand 9116, September 24-28, 2002
Inmarsat Ltd., the world's leading global mobile satellite communications
provider, today unveiled at SMM Hamburg the two newest members of
the Fleet family of services, Fleet F55 and Fleet F33. Designed
to provide flexible data services for small to medium-sized vessels,
Fleet F55 and Fleet F33 follow on from the successful commercial
launch of Inmarsat Fleet F77 in April this year.
Together, Fleet F77, F55 and F33 provide high-quality mobile voice
and flexible data communication services for the entire Maritime
industry. Fleet F55 and F33 allow smaller vessels to benefit from
voice, email, secure Internet and Intranet access, plus a high quality
fax service, allowing crews to operate a 'mobile office' at sea.
"The launch of this new service brings improved data capabilities
to smaller vessels - many of which have never had access to the
data they require," said Robert Johnson, Director, Maritime
Business at Inmarsat. "Yachts and smaller vessels will also
be able to benefit from antennas of a more manageable size. For
the first time this enables them to access the type of advanced,
reliable and cost effective communications facilities only previously
available on larger ships."
"This broader family of services reinforces the strength of
Inmarsat's portfolio for every size of vessel, and again reaffirms
Inmarsat's commitment to bringing highly efficient and reliable
communications services to the maritime community."
Fleet F55's data services will
utilize the spot beams on Inmarsat's
satellites, providing up to 64kbit/s Mobile ISDN or Mobile Packet
Data in those areas of the world covered. F55 voice services use
the global beam to provide global coverage.
Fleet F55 is due to be launched in early 2003 and a Fleet F55 antenna
sub system from EMS is being displayed at the SMM Exhibition.
The data rates available through Fleet F33 mean that a new, wider
range of applications is available to the smaller vessel market.
Maritime-specific information, such as sea and weather charts, can
be made available online and updated in real time. Users can also
enjoy the benefit of reliable, easy access to email whenever and
wherever is needed.
Fleet F33 is due for launch in early 2003. Nera Satcom is the first
manufacturer to unveil their Fleet F33 terminal hardware, which
is being displayed at the SMM exhibition.
"By launching Inmarsat F33 we are responding directly to a
market sector for increased data requirements, but which may be
exceeded by the Inmarsat F77's comprehensive service offering,"
said Ottar Bjaastad, Nera Maritime Business Manager. "Fleet
F33 will give users in coastal waters value-added benefits though
higher data capacity and high quality voice."
The benefits of Fleet F55 include:
Clear, digital voice available virtually globally in all
four Inmarsat Ocean Regions.
Two distinct services available in Inmarsat spot beam areas:
- 64kbit/s ISDN service providing high quality voice group four fax,
or high-speed voice band data service.
- Mobile Packet Data service, an "always on" IP service.
This service is charged per volume of data rather than time (ISDN
service). This is very attractive for smaller volumes of data or
interactive data sessions.
Relatively small lightweight antenna offering easy installation
for smaller vessels.
The benefits of Fleet F33 include:
Clear, digital voice available virtually globally in all
four of the Inmarsat Ocean Regions.
Two distinct data services available in Inmarsat spot beam
areas depending on terminal version:
- Enhanced 9.6kbit/s data offering high performance throughput, and/or
- The Inmarsat Mobile Packet Data is anticipated, offering 'always
connected' capability and access to data charged on the basis of
usage not time.
Small, lightweight antenna (similar to mini-M), offering
increased ease of supply and installation.
About Inmarsat Limited
Inmarsat Ltd owns and operates a unique global mobile satellite
network and delivers its communications solutions through a worldwide
network of approximately 260 distributors and other service providers
operating in over 80 countries to end users in the maritime, land
and aeronautical sectors.
Inmarsat Ltd has a portfolio of mobile satellite solutions,
including voice, fax, intranet and Internet access and other data
services.
Inmarsat Ltd has more than 22 years of experience in designing,
implementing and operating satellite networks.
At the end of June 2002, approximately 250,000 terminals
were registered to access Inmarsat Ltd's services.
Inmarsat Ltd is also supported by partners in the fields
of equipment manufacture, software provision and systems integration.
Inmarsat Ltd is a subsidiary of Inmarsat Ventures plc.
Inmarsat is the exclusive global partner of the FIA World
Rally Championships 2002.
Visit http://www.inmarsat.com for more information.
For more information, please contact:
Dominic Cook
Inmarsat
Tel: +44 20 7728 1256
Fax: +44 20 7728 1179
Email: dominic_cook@inmarsat.com
Antonia Christie/Caroline Rabjohn
Bite Communications
Tel: +44 20 8834 3444/3450
Fax: +44 20 8741 2790
Email: antonia.christie/caroline.rabjohn@bitepr.com
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The Inmarsat-sponsored Kenya Safari Rally saw one of the largest
ever concentrations of Inmarsat satellite services and solutions
in a single location.
 The
Rally provided a unique environment in which to showcase Inmarsat-delivered
solutions including store-and-forward video footage transfer, Internet
access and voice telephony.
As well as sponsoring the FIA World Rally Championship and the
Safari Rally of Kenya itself, Inmarsat deployed 29 GAN terminals
and more than 20 mini-M units to facilitate communications services
at the event for teams, media, organizers, safety officials, and
other WRC Partners.
 "Without
doubt, the Inmarsat kit completely saved the day," says Martin
Holmes, a freelance motor-sport journalist. "There was simply
no other way of getting pictures back to broadcasters and media
agencies around the world."
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Inmarsat's forthcoming Regional BGAN service was formally launched
to Partners during the Safari Rally weekend in Kenya (July 11-14).
The launch included a series of activities including press interviews,
WRC hospitality, a Regional BGAN showcase at the WRC Service Park
and a one-day dedicated channel event for local channel Partners.
 The
channel event was attended by over 35 Partners and concluded with
a very positive discussion about how best to promote the service
throughout Africa.
The afternoon was a closed workshop, devoted to Partners who have
signed up as Regional BGAN Distribution Partners, where issues concerning
pricing and marketing were discussed.
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Inmarsat held an Interactive Channel Forum on July 10th & 11th
at the Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.
Topics covered the marketing campaigns for 2002: GAN, Crew Calling,
Fleet, mini-M and the forthcoming Regional BGAN service. Both days
included interactive sessions and open forum discussions.
The event tied in with the Inmarsat Safari Rally.
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The International Maritime
Organization (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee
has endorsed the recommendation by its Communication and Search
and Rescue (COMSAR) sub-committee, that Inmarsat Fleet F77 should
be used on GMDSS ships and by Maritime Rescue Co-ordination
Centers
(MRCCs). Fleet F77 is the only service that meets the IMO's requirements
for new systems introduced since 01 February 1999.
At an IMO regional seminar in Africa, it was recommended that Fleet
F77 and Inmarsat C be used for communications at sub-saharan MRCCs.
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