Inmarsat Share Discussion Threads

[andrbea] 18/11/2005 09:19

Iridium vs Inmarsat:

/......

On the other hand, the newest Inmarsat satellites, which are geostationary, can provide connection speeds of up to 492 Kbps. That's far faster than the Iridium system, which began operation in 1998 and provides data links as slow as 2.4 Kbps.

Satellite-specific weaknesses partially offset the strengths of each network. For example, because Iridium satellites orbit the earth in 100 minutes, maintaining voice connections requires a lot of handoffs and inter-satellite data links.

That, along with the compression necessary to send voice over thin data links, requires significant processing, which has the potential to add delay and degrade conversation quality.

Similarly, the Axxess brochure claims that Inmarsat broadband delivered through the product's Ethernet ports makes possible VoIP calling. Combined with the system's WiFi capabilities, that could extend to corporate jets one of the hottest emerging trends in business communications, wireless VoIP (See Untethered: The Case for Enterprise Wireless VoIP). But such calls would still suffer from the delays inherent with geostationary satellites.

The standard Axxess configuration provides two Iridium channels, with the option of adding two more, along with an Ethernet port and WiFi capability for the Inmarsat broadband connection.

In addition to voice and broadband Internet access, the system will support PBX, short-burst data, SMS, and flight information-related functions.

[whipround] 16/11/2005 17:10

23rd is week's time, hope market reacts to Sukawaty's comments better than they did to Sarin's. (Isn't that a nerve gas?)

[andrbea] 16/11/2005 12:09

like this chap, the markets are in the doldrums....

[andrbea] 15/11/2005 10:36

Barclays' five-month London-to-Cape Town 'Miles Ahead' overland expedition arrived in triumph at its final destination on November 10, having contributed R18.5-million to community development initiatives across Africa.

Consisting of four fifth-generation off-road Nissan Patrol vehicles, the convoy was kitted out with Inmarsat high-speed satellite communications equipment, which enabled the crew to maintain voice and data communications even in the remotest parts of the African bush.

[whipround] 15/11/2005 10:27

40% increase will feed more or less directly through to the bottom line as most of Inmarsat's costs are fixed or semi-fixed. Good news then, and Inmarsat have already said that margins would be reduced due to volume discounts.

[whipround] 15/11/2005 09:55

Well done Andrbea, interesting stuff.

[andrbea] 15/11/2005 09:25

Tesacom expects 40% rev growth from BGAN services - Regional
Published: Monday, November 14, 2005 12:59 (GMT -0400)

[andrbea] 15/11/2005 09:23

Telenor Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway (Oslo Stock Exchange:TEL and NASDAQ:TELN), today announced the completion of all Inmarsat requirements - technical, commercial and distribution - necessary for the successful launch of BGAN.

Inmarsat BGAN is the world's first global, mobile service to provide voice and broadband data simultaneously. BGAN is the latest addition to the Telenor Portfolio of Broadband, On Demand and Value Added Services.

"Telenor is fully prepared for the successful launch and distribution of BGAN," said Arvid Johannesen, director of BGAN Services for Telenor Satellite Services. "Our technical and commercial systems are ready and our distribution partners are strategically positioned to get BGAN terminals into the market as quickly as manufacturers have them available."

[andrbea] 14/11/2005 08:47

don't forget the Galileo project....



"The dispute about additional funding for Galileo has also calmed down the meantime now that ESA has promised to cover intermediate financing in the amount of almost one billion euros for the project's start phase. This intermediate financing has become necessary because Germany, among others, was blocking payment for Galileo in mid-October . Germany, which has contributed around 500 million euros to the project thus far, was withholding further payment on the condition that the main control Center for the Galileo project be established in the Bavarian town of Oberpfaffenhofen. However, Italy, France, and Spain were also laying claim to this highly sought-after centerpiece in the Galileo project.

The fear that German companies might only play a minor role in the future arose after the decision was made to allow the industry consortia Eurely – directed by Spanish, French, and Italian companies – and iNavSat (EADS, Thales, Inmarsat) to jointly set up the satellite system instead of competing with one another. The licensee will receive marketing rights to the Galileo system for 20 years in return for coverage of two thirds of the setup costs and operating costs. The concession agreement is now expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2006. (Craig Morris) / (jk/c't)"

[whipround] 11/11/2005 15:52

Directorate Change

Inmarsat plc, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications
services, today announced that Mr Bjarne Aamodt has resigned with immediate
effect from its board following his acceptance of the role as Chairman of
Telenor Satellite Services AS, which is one of the company's leading
distributors of satellite airtime.

Interesting as Telenor owns about 12% of Inmarsat. and Telenor have been acquisitive

[andrbea] 11/11/2005 11:21

"Operators looking forward to the introduction of Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband 432Kbit/s-per-channel satellite data service towards the end of the year can get a sneak preview of the technology at the Thrane & Thrane (booth 2883).
The Danish manufacturer is showing its super-compact Explorer 500 portable terminal, which embodies the same core technology as the T&T airborne equipment that will start to become available in the middle of next year.
Explorer 500 itself – notebook-sized and weighing just 3lb (1.4kg) - is designed to appeal to ground users who need to maintain internet and other broadband links when they venture into regions beyond the reach of conventional fixed and wireless communications.
The SwiftBroadband service will be supported by Inmarsat's powerful new fourth-generation satellites"

[andrbea] 11/11/2005 11:20

The Nepad e-schools' project aims to connect 600 000 African schools to the Internet, primarily via satellite, over the next 10 years

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) e-schools' project, which recently won the Intelligent Community Visionary of the Year 2005 award, aims to connect 600 000 African schools to the Internet, primarily via satellite, over the next 10 years.
London-based Inmarsat is donating 50 broadband global area network (BGAN) terminals and airtime to the Nepad project.

BGAN is an IP and circuit-switched service, which offers high-bandwidth services at speeds up to half a megabit per second, says Inmarsat.

[andrbea] 11/11/2005 09:35

Government Systems -- An alliance was announced enabling Swiftlink(R)
gear to take advantage of important Broadband enhancements to the
Inmarsat satellite constellation which enable a 60-fold increase in
capability over the earlier Inmarsat system. TCS will co-market BGAN-
based solutions with Thrane & Thrane, who is the world's leading
manufacturer of terminals for global mobile satellite and radio
communication. Inmarsat BGAN is an attractive addition to our Swiftlink
VSAT broadband service in some situations."

[volsung] 10/11/2005 16:34

fraeeat aajjuy lloiut ssslioiuytt

[andrbea] 10/11/2005 14:12

homeland security: another niche market for satellite phones?

"The vehicle is paid for by the state's federal Homeland Security funding. The Illinois Terrorism Task Force will have 13 such vehicles statewide to help facilitate communications during disasters. The vehicle includes radio and video equipment and a video camera that can view disaster scenes up to half a mile away.

The vehicle is equipped with satellite, cell phone and land line telephone communications, along with a generator so the post can be set up anywhere. "

[whipround] 10/11/2005 12:33

The second Inmarsat-4 (I-4) satellite has a more direct route into geostationary orbit than its twin - the F1 - which was launched successfully in March 2005 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Whereas the F1 was blasted first into a super-synchronous orbit - taking it 90,000 km (55,926 miles) away from the Earth at apogee - the F2 never rises higher than 35,786 km (22,237 miles), the altitude of its final orbit.

Eastern journey

In the early minutes after launch from the Sea Launch Odyssey platform in mid-Pacific, the rocket powers due east along the Equator, only 300 km (186.5 miles) above the surface of the Earth.

On this trajectory, the speed of the planet's rotation at its widest circumference causes the spacecraft to build momentum quickly.

The 'slingshot' effect generated helps propel the rocket into a higher orbit, powered by two burns of the Block DM - the final stage of the rocket.

The first Block DM burn occurs eight-and-a-half minutes after launch, high above the Pacific Ocean.

About an hour later above Indonesia, the Block DM burns for a second and final time, pushing the spacecraft further into space and establishing it in transfer orbit.

Tracking and monitoring

A ground station at Lake Cowichan in British Columbia acquires the first signal from the I-4 - two hours after launch - as tracking and monitoring begin in earnest.

The I-4 spends about two days in the first transfer orbit as initial position fixing takes place. The solar arrays are partly deployed to provide power to the satellite's electrical systems.

Then, as the I-4 reaches apogee for the fourth time, satellite controllers initiate the first burn of the spacecraft's liquid apogee engine.

Over a period of a week, a series of these apogee burns raises the perigee of the orbit until the satellite is circling the Earth in geostationary orbit.

In-orbit tests

Solar arrays fully deploy and the reflector panel is unfurled, as the satellite is drifted towards its in-orbit test location at 8 degrees East above the Gulf of Guinea.

With testing complete after about four weeks, the satellite is manoeuvred to its final location above northern Brazil, ready to bring Broadband for a mobile planet(tm) to the Americas.

[andrbea] 10/11/2005 11:52

Most Powerful Satellites Ever

According to the BBC, Inmarsat-4 F2 was recently launched from a floating pad in the Pacific. The communications satellite, one of the most powerful ever built, is designed to facilitate broadband and 3G connections, particularly in the Americas. The satellite was the second of two launched to support the creation of virtual offices anywhere on the globe. The two-satellite constellation offers high-speed broadband connections and new 3G phone technology to busy professionals such as businesspeople, disaster relief workers, and journalists. "The successful launch of the second I-4 satellite means that Inmarsat now has the world's most sophisticated commercial network for mobile voice and data services," said Andrew Sukawaty, chairman of London-based Inmarsat. "It will support an unprecedented evolution of our services-more than doubling the bandwidth available to our mobile users." The satellites are reportedly each the size of a London bus and should remain operational for about 15 years."

[andrbea] 10/11/2005 07:41

more post-launch detail:

"It has passed a critical time, according to Inmarsat. "We have 'acquired' the satellite - our ground station in Canada can see the satellite, and control it," said John Warehand, public relations manager for Inmarsat


The satellite is currently moving out of its transfer orbit and into its working geosynchronous orbit. It will sit over the Inmarsat testing station in Italy for two weeks, then deploy the full communications antenna and the 45m-long solar panels. It will cover the Americas, joining one launched earlier this year that will cover Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

/..


Inmarsat will aim to keep pricing competitive. While no definitive pricing structure has been confirmed Inmarsat said it is "not going to be charging the sort of rates people currently pay in hotel rooms". An existing data-only service, R-B-GAN, costs $6 per megabyte. Inmarsat said end users could "expect something comparable" from B-GAN.


"The media would find this service beneficial. Aid agencies in areas such as Kashmir where the communications structure has been knocked out are already using our services. Governments who need to reach populations with no other infrastructure would also find this service useful," said Warehand.


The satellite modem terminals vary in size from a large paperback book to the size of a laptop, and generally connect to computers via USB. The terminals are manufactured by Nera, Thrana & Thrana, US company Hughes, and Singapore based Addvalue, who have also made Microsoft's Xbox.


B-GAN will be launched before the end of the year in Europe with American coverage coming in early 2006, the company said.
"

[eipgam] 09/11/2005 19:25

Thanks... I now know what is happening on 23/11! All the news seems very chirpy around here...

[andrbea] 09/11/2005 16:14

flattery will get you everywhere, W-R...

here's another good read:

"The Inmarsat 4-series of satellite also continue the existing lower-data-rate capacity currently offered by the London-headquartered company for maritime, air and emergency services, and enhanced navigation signals for air traffic uses.

"Basically, it is going to expand our services and extend the life of our service to the end of the next decade," Sukawaty said"

[whipround] 09/11/2005 16:07

How do you do it Andrbea, plucked from obscurity, and busy on prty thread aswell!

[andrbea] 09/11/2005 16:04

High-Speed Internet, Voice And Safety Services In One Unit, EMS SATCOM Announces HSD-440 High-Speed Data Terminal
ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 8, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Today, EMS SATCOM, a division of EMS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELMG), announced its single-unit, high-speed Internet, voice and safety services satellite communications terminal -- the eNfusion HSD-440. The eNfusion HSD-440 will be unveiled at NBAA 2005, the National Business Aviation Association conference and trade show.


"Another first," notes Dr. Neil Mackay, general manager of EMS SATCOM. "We are rounding out our product portfolio, and delivering world-class SATCOM products to give our customers more options for in-flight office functionality than ever before."

[andrbea] 09/11/2005 15:35

23 nov 7am

[whipround] 09/11/2005 15:29

Q3 Update.