Inmarsat Share Discussion Threads

[andrbea] 15/9/2005 09:19

Broadband platforms

AeroMobile will operate via classic Inmarsat Aero-H/H+ satellite communications systems already on board 1,900-plus long-haul airliners. "We took a key decision early on not to be dependent on factors we had no control over," says Coiley, adding that because it is using existing "classic" Inmarsat services, it can move quickly. AeroMobile plans to progress to broadband communications platforms as they become available. But unlike expensive satcom-based telephony, AeroMobile's GSM service will be priced in line with international cellphone roaming rates, at an average of $3.50 a minute – a price that is acceptable according to market research, says Coiley. "

[m.t.glass] 14/9/2005 11:30

From The Times yesterday:

A SUNSPOT that at its peak has been five times larger than Earth is expected to release fresh solar flares this week that could cripple satellites and black out radio communications.

Sunspot 798 has fired seven enormous eruptions of radiation at Earth since September 7, including one monstrous flare last Wednesday, the fourth-largest on record.
While the sunspot has since shrunk a little, it is rotating across the Sun's surface so as to line up with Earth, meaning any activity this week is more likely to strike the planet head-on than deliver a glancing blow.

Astronomers said there was a 75 per cent chance of more flares within days, raising the possibility of serious disruptions to telecommunications....

...The largest flare on record, in November 2003, disabled satellites and an instrument aboard a Mars-bound spacecraft. A smaller flare that hit Earth head-on in 1989 knocked out the electricity supply in the Canadian state of Quebec.




and from TASS:

Giant sunspot makes energy attacks on the Earth

13.09.2005, 19.47

PARIS, September 13 (Itar-Tass) -- A giant spot, which exceeds the Earth size fivefold, has formed on the Sun, European scientists said on Tuesday.

The scientists said that the Earth would experience a series of energy blows within the next few days. That may affect electronic equipment, primarily mobile phones and satellites, and millions of people.

This is a peculiar situation, as the traditional cycle of solar activity takes eleven years and the current cycle has been on decline since 2001. Yet the appearance of the new giant sunspot puzzled the scientists. They said that the Sun has been breaking the routine rules since 2001.

Seven energy blows of the kind have reached the Earth since September 7. Last Wednesday's event was the fourth largest in the entire history of the solar phenomenon monitoring.

The scientists predicted a series of even stronger discharges within the next 24 hours. The giant spot is targeted at the Earth, they said.

The majority of solar discharges fly by the Earth, but this time chances of a frontal hit make 75%. A frontal hit of the kind disabled the energy system of Canada's Quebec in 1989.

The energy wave of sunspots is made up of Roentgen and ultra-violet emission and plasma – hot ionized gas. The radiation reaches with the Earth within nine minutes after the explosion and plasma arrives within two days. Yet the magnetic field of the Earth protects the planet from the harmful rays and energy.

[m.t.glass] 14/9/2005 11:23

Sunspot activity is reportedly disrupting satellite services this week.

[andrbea] 14/9/2005 09:53

on inmarsat site:

Inmarsat extends capacity and offers free use of satellites to underpin relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina
06-09-2005 - The weight of Inmarsat's expertise and resources has been placed behind the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, with additional satellite capacity and free call credits made available for agencies striving to help survivors in the stricken southern states.

This was sparked by a surge in the use of the Inmarsat mini-M and Global Area Network (GAN) services in the wake of the hurricane that devastated much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and western Florida.

Inmarsat offers on-demand mobile satellite telephone connections and high-speed data links that are completely independent of the normal fixed-line and cellular networks. These become indispensable to relief workers during a major crisis when the conventional communications infrastructure has been crippled.

To support the overwhelming need for basic telecommunications services after Hurricane Katrina, Inmarsat has been offering free use in the disaster zone of its mini-M services, from 12:00 GMT on Sunday, September 4, until 12:00 GMT on Sunday, September 11.

Distribution partners and customers were being informed about how to take advantage of the free use credit facility.

The number of mini-M calls made by civilian emergency services, the military and the media climbed steeply during the first few days after the disaster.

And Inmarsat Global Area Network (GAN) Mobile ISDN services - mainly used for video-conferencing services - also rose significantly.

In response to the surge in demand, Inmarsat has reallocated satellite capacity to make additional channels available in the disaster zone, ensuring that users of both systems experience the best possible levels of service to support them in their missions.

Inmarsat-sponsored aid agency Télécom Sans Frontières (TSF) is also putting its communication specialists and equipment - including Inmarsat mini-M and GAN terminals - at the disposal of UN agencies, local authorities and rescue squads.

Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit the USA, swept at up to 140mph across the southern states on August 29, causing thousands of deaths and making millions homeless.

During the early days of the crisis, Inmarsat was used successfully by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish videoconferencing links in the disaster zone.

According to reports from the service provider, the DHS customs and border control team experienced flawless performance while streaming video over lengthy periods, sometimes up to five hours long.

[andrbea] 13/9/2005 11:11

sector interest

[andrbea] 12/9/2005 12:28

Telenor Satellite Services, a Rockville satellite services subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor, and Global Relief Technologies, LLC, a Portsmouth, N.H., technology business that has its sales and marketing offices in Chevy Chase, are donating equipment and support services to help rescue teams collect and transmit information in the Gulf. Equipment includes satellite terminals, personal digital assistants and software, said Thomas Surface, a Telenor spokesman.

''We are also providing individualized training and delivery of equipment to where [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and the Marines are requesting, personally delivering it in some instances," he said. ''We have several technicians on standby at our Southbury, Conn., teleport to deploy with equipment and for training, if requested by FEMA."

Another communications company, Stratos Global Corp. of Bethesda, which provides mobile satellite services, is teaming with partner Inmarsat to provide free services to let survivors and relief workers contact family and friends."

[martingb] 09/9/2005 08:00

BETHESDA, MD, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Stratos Global Corp. (TSX:
SGB), the leading global provider of Inmarsat mobile satellite services, today
announced it is teaming with its partner, Inmarsat, to provide free-of-charge
satellite- based communications services to allow victims of Hurricane Katrina
and relief workers providing assistance in the area to contact family and
loved ones. Inmarsat (ISAT:L) is the leading global mobile satellite services
provider.

Stratos will deploy a mobile communications headquarters equipped with
Inmarsat GAN (Global Areas Network) and mini-M mobile satellite terminals to
areas impacted by the storm, and to the staging areas where relief workers are
concentrated. The GAN and mini-M terminals will allow victims and workers in
the area to call family and loved ones at no cost and regardless of the status
of the local telephone infrastructure. The GAN system will also provide
Internet, data, video and fax services to support relief efforts.

"Stratos felt the impact of Hurricane Katrina directly on our employees
and facilities in New Orleans and along the Gulf coast," said Jim Parm,
Stratos' president and chief executive officer. "While, fortunately, all of
our employees are safe, and our services are quickly being restored, this
situation drove home the importance of making communications available to the
residents and relief workers in the area who haven't been able to make
contact."

Comments Inmarsat Chairman and CEO, Andrew Sukawaty: "We are pleased to
support our partner, Stratos, to put families back in contact. Inmarsat's
global mobile satellite constellation provides essential communications across
90 percent of the Earth's land mass and oceans. At this difficult time,
following Hurricane Katrina, we continue to support disaster recovery
efforts."

Stratos is also supplying mobile satellite services to customers who are
providing relief and recovery to Hurricane Katrina victims, including the
National Guard, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), American Red
Cross, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and a number of U.S. federal government
agencies.

"In the wake of a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, reliable
communications are among the most important tools needed by aid workers and
among the hardest to come by," added Mr. Parm. "Stratos is proud to be working
with Inmarsat and our other partners to deploy these critical services in
support of the urgent relief and recovery efforts that are underway."

Additionally, as the largest provider of remote communications services
to the offshore oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico, Stratos is working
with industrial companies to provide satellite-based communications solutions
to assist in the restoration of onshore and offshore oil and gas operations
that were impacted by the storm.

[ygor705] 08/9/2005 16:20

{IMG SRC="}

[andrbea] 08/9/2005 12:28

200000 (volume) buy at 11.20, 12.20, ....

[andrbea] 08/9/2005 11:50

UPDATE 4-Eutelsat plans to go public this year

[andrbea] 07/9/2005 10:55

telenor (with inmarsat technology) involved in relief effort

"September 06, 2005 10:47 AM US Eastern Timezone

Global Relief Technologies and Telenor Satellite Services To Support U.S. Marines and FEMA

OSLO, Norway & ROCKVILLE, Md. & PORTSMOUTH, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 2005--Telenor Satellite Services (NASDAQ:TELN; OSE:TEL):


-- Companies Bundling Information Management and Remote Communications Technologies for Humanitarian Relief, Security and Reconstruction Operations

-- Systems Deploying with 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and to FEMA Personnel Working Throughout the Stricken Region

Global Relief Technologies (GRT) and Telenor Satellite Services have joined forces to provide rapid data management collection capabilities and mobile satellite communications to elements of the 2nd United States Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that are currently assisting victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The equipment and satellite communications service provide the Marines and FEMA responders the ability to immediately collect and transmit critical data with exact GPS coordinates using ruggedized personal data assistants (PDAs) and laptop-sized satellite terminals to the GRT Virtual Network Operation Center (VNOC). The reports are then immediately forwarded to rescue and response command operations centers.

The PDAs were loaded with customized Rapid Data Management Software (RDMS) developed by GRT and then transported directly to the Marine units onboard United States Navy ships deploying into hurricane stricken areas of the Gulf Coast.

The customized software includes reporting capabilities on shelter, water/sanitation, medical, logistics and transportation requirements among others and can be quickly updated via satellite, cellular communications or the Internet. GRT is providing 24/7 secure Web-based data management support to the Marines and relief workers from its VNOC, which is manned by a team of communications, software, and computer specialists.

"For the person in the field GRT's service is a simple to use but powerful reporting tool that assists with gathering time-sensitive information from relief and reconstruction operations around the world," said Michael Gray, chief executive officer of GRT. "The GRT technology is currently being used globally by humanitarian organizations and the Marines in other operations."

"Keeping it simple and easy to use makes this a critical communications tool for emergency responders," noted Ken LeMoult of GRT, who deployed aboard the USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) with elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit to assist with training and logistical support. "We are replacing paper forms with customized reporting software that is easy to navigate. Additionally, the GRT VNOC database management service removes the data management burden from relief workers in the field."

"The GRT/Telenor Satellite Services communications package of equipment, specialized software and Inmarsat-based satellite communications is specifically designed to help emergency responders get aid, materials, and services to the field quickly and more efficiently," said Britt Carina Horncastle, president of Telenor Satellite Services, Inc. "We will continue to work with GRT and our network of distribution partners to get satellite communications systems to Government and civilian agencies responsible for the enormous task of rebuilding the Gulf Coast region."

The GRT system was first successfully used in Iraq to support humanitarian operations in 2003. The Marines also have used the system to support relief operations in Haiti and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are currently using the system in Afghanistan and Africa.

GRT and Telenor Satellite Services subsidized the equipment and satellite services provided to the Marines and FEMA.

Global Relief Technologies LLC was founded in March 2003 to provide clients in the humanitarian and reconstruction communities with a secure, integrated solution that ensures more effective response to, and management of, global crisis situations. The company is headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire with its principal Sales and Marketing presence located in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Telenor Satellite Services, Inc. is the Rockville, Maryland-based satellite services subsidiary of Norwegian telecommunications corporation Telenor ASA, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (TEL) and NASDAQ (TELN)."

[ygor705] 07/9/2005 10:35

Sounds like the Southern States will have to review its whole communications strategy after Katrina. Lots of criticism on the telly last night re communications costing lives as a result of systems failures. With Bush under the cosh, it must be good news for the satellite players in the longer term.

[martingb] 07/9/2005 08:01

Further to the Tejas Securities coverage they are rating it as a BUY with a 12month price target of £4.24.

[andrbea] 07/9/2005 07:58

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Tejas Securities Group, Inc.
released a research report today on Inmarsat Plc
(OTC Pink Sheets: IMASF; London: ISAT).

[whipround] 02/9/2005 16:06

Although not benefitting Inmarsat directly, it can't do any harm to sat phones in other parts of the world.


By Thursday, nearly 10,000 satellite-based wireless phones had poured into the hurricane zone to co-ordinate relief efforts by federal disaster personnel and Red Cross workers, said service providers Globalstar LLC and Iridium Satellite LLC.

But satellite phones were spread far more thinly among the ranks of local public safety personnel and emergency responders.

Before the storm, a few thousand satellite phones at most were in use across the three-state region hit by the hurricane, and perhaps only a few hundred of those were in the hands of local authorities, including at least four Louisiana Parishes.

Though government officials have never before had to contemplate a communications breakdown of this magnitude, it was not immediately clear - with $8.6-billion (U.S.) in federal money handed out to states since September 11 for emergency preparedness - why more satellite communications systems were not in place.

Without such handsets, the most drenched and devastated areas of the Gulf Coast were cut off from the outside world in more ways than one.

[doubleorquits] 01/9/2005 16:02

Anyone know if it is eligible for the Techmark100 as well?

[whipround] 01/9/2005 15:56

Anyway, next milestone is ftse 350 selection meeting which should be a doddle

[ygor705] 31/8/2005 17:40

Yes ....... made too much money Whipround but you would love the pic. Great view of the whole of Europe and West Africa as the sun sets. Would look great on your Mum's wall!

[whipround] 31/8/2005 08:54

Sounds like you've got too much time on your hands igor.

[ygor705] 30/8/2005 21:04

Have a nice satellite pic but it won't copy onto ADVFN. Anybody know how to do it?

[martingb] 29/8/2005 17:56

Announcement from the BBC website about the Intelsat/PanAmSat merger:

Satellite firms agree $3bn tie-up

Intelsat satellites helped capture the first moon landing in 1969
Two of the world's largest satellite communications firms are set to join forces after Intelsat announced a $3.2bn (£1.7bn) deal to buy PanAmSat.
Bermuda-based Intelsat has made an all cash offer for the US company PanAmSat, whose technology transmits nearly 2,000 TV channels worldwide.

If approved by PanAmSat shareholders and US regulators, the combined firm will have annual sales of about $1.9bn.

PanAmSat, which was once owned by US broadcaster DirecTV, floated in March.

'Ideal partners'

PanAmSat's board of directors is supporting the deal while shareholders controlling 59% of the company's shares have already agreed to back it.

Intelsat pioneered satellite communications on its launch in the 1960s and transmitted live pictures of the first moon landing in 1969.

Privatized in 2001, Intelsat now specialises in distributing video, voice and data services for broadcasters, blue-chip companies and governments in 220 countries.

The company said the deal - which is expected to take up to a year to complete - would create an industry leader with the world's largest commercial satellite fleet.

This is a 'win win' for both companies

Joseph Wright, PanAmSat chief executive officer

"The two companies are complementary in customer, geographic and product focus," said David McGlade, Intelsat's chief executive officer.

"We will continue providing the highest level of service to existing customers while growing new business in the rapidly expanding communications market."

Popular investment

The $3.2bn offer represents a 40% premium to the value of PanAmSat's shares when they floated earlier this year.

"This is a 'win win' for both companies and a terrific outcome for all PanAmSat's shareholders," said its chief executive officer Joseph Wright.

Satellite operators have proved popular with investors in recent times.

A consortium of private equity firms led PanAmSat's $4.2bn buyout from DirecTV last year, while British firm Inmarsat floated on the London stock market earlier this year.

[whipround] 26/8/2005 17:29

Now that the results are out of the way and analysts are still on board, hopefully next week will be onward and upward, (US markets permitting).

[whipround] 26/8/2005 17:23

Looked at sgh, scarily wide spread!

[whipround] 26/8/2005 16:23

Seems almost too mainstream, very good, interesting that xantic seems to make more money as a distributor than Inmarsat. Shows where the balance of power in the relationship is.

[andrbea] 26/8/2005 16:19

sgh (another sattelite play on AIM) is up 12% today (tipped in a shares mag)