Inmarsat’s market-leading technologies take center stage at CommunicAsia 2013

18 June 2013 – Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, will showcase its market-leading technologies for enterprises and governments at this year’s CommunicAsia, the largest annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) event in Asia-Pacific.

Exhibiting this year at Marina Bay Sands (booth 1S2-01), Inmarsat will present its expanded portfolio of voice and data solutions, and a game-changing pipeline of new services.

Drew Brandy, Vice President, Enterprise Industry at Inmarsat, will be presenting at the conference with a speech focusing on “The Future of Mobile and Fixed Global Satellite Communications” to be given on 18th June.

HDR for broadcasters
Inmarsat’s new BGAN high data rate (HDR) service will be commercially launched in Q4 2013. On display at CommunicAsia – and for the first time in the region - is the new Cobham SATCOM Explorer 710, the first BGAN terminal that is capable of accessing the revolutionary new Inmarsat service for broadcasters. BGAN HDR provides broadcasters and media organisations with an anticipated streaming rate of around 650kbps with its full channel option which, when combined with the compact, lightweight and highly portable EXPLORER 710 terminal, will deliver a step-change in video quality.

Cobham’s plug and play EXPLORER 710 also features a built-in bonding capability, enabling connection speeds over 1 Mbps, which was previously only possible on a VSAT uplink.

“Asian broadcasters are always on the cutting-edge of innovation. We are very excited to introduce BGAN HDR to this market and expect this will be very well-received by broadcasters looking to deliver high-quality video anytime, anywhere,” said Drew Brandy, Vice President, Enterprise Industry at Inmarsat.

Inmarsat’s award-winning BGAN has revolutionised mobile news gathering since it was introduced in 2005.

The world’s largest news organisations trust BGAN to deliver breaking news from any part of the planet.

HDR for Government
HDR will also be a focus of Inmarsat’s Global Government offering at CommunicAsia and represents a significant step forward for government satcomms. The added capability it will provide, for both land and air environments, will add a major new dimension to Inmarsat’s Global Government portfolio.

“Soon, whether on land or in the air, Inmarsat will meet demand for high data rate video streaming, adding enhanced real-time situational awareness in the field,” said Lizzie Greenwood, Inmarsat Global Government’s Business Development Director for AsiaPac.

“In addition to HDR, we are about to launch Slingshot L-TAC: our UHF TACSAT L-band alternative, enhancing Inmarsat’s reputation for delivering innovative and customer focused products to meet the requirements of the Global Government market.”

Alphasat and Global Xpress
Inmarsat is adding two new satellites to its global constellation this year, both providing a step-change in the overall connectivity capabilities offered.

Scheduled to launch on July 25th, Alphasat will be orbited by Arianespace from its Spaceport in French Guiana. This satellite, positioned at 25 degrees east, will enhance L-band services in areas which currently have the highest levels of traffic. It will provide coverage over Africa, Europe, the Middle-East and parts of Asia. Alphasat will support Inmarsat’s HDR capabilities and the increasing demand for high-quality streaming connectivity. Alphasat is based on Europe’s new high capability platform, Alphabus.

Later in the year, Global Xpress (GX), the world’s first global Ka-band broadband network, will also be rolled out with the launch of the first of the three Inmarsat 5 satellites. A true gamechanger, GX will deliver superfast broadband speeds of up to 50Mbps to mobile, portable and fixed devices on land, sea and in the air, for users and communities in all markets and environmental conditions.

“Global Xpress will enable advanced broadband capabilities from high-definition live broadcasting to the most sophisticated communications requirements of governments, businesses and individuals in this hyper-connected world,” said Leo Mondale, Managing Director, Global Xpress.

The first GX satellite will cover Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia with global coverage achieved following the deployment of the third spacecraft by the close of 2014.

Asia Pacific represents huge opportunities for Inmarsat due to the growing demand for reliable satellite services in sectors such as maritime, energy, mining, and media. At CommunicAsia 2013, Inmarsat will demonstrate the breadth of its offering including: the BGAN service, which provides simultaneous voice and broadband data communications globally; BGAN Link, a broadband data service for organisations requiring high volumes of data; BGAN M2M, a global two-way IP data service for machine to machine communications; IsatPhone Pro, a low-cost satellite phone providing high quality voice services – and now also offering Twitter; and IsatPhone Link, a low-cost, fixed-line global satellite phone service for people based in rural or remote areas outside of cellular coverage.