Inmarsat

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Inmarsat plc
Type	Public London Stock Exchange (LSE: ISAT)
Founded	1979
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom UK
Industry	Satellite communication
Revenue	▲ $576.5 million USD (2007)^[1]
Operating income	▲ $211.4 million USD (2007)^[1]
Website	www.inmarsat.com

Inmarsat-3 satellite

Satellite phone (Inmarsat)

Inmarsat plc is an international telecommunications company founded in 1979, originally as an intergovernmental organization. It operates a fleet of eleven (as of 2005) geosynchronous telecommunications satellites. The company is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: ISAT) as of December 2007. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

Inmarsat provides telephony and data services to users world-wide, via special terminals. An Inmarsat terminal contacts the satellite and communicates to a ground station through the satellite. It provides reliable communications services to a range of governments, aid agencies, media outlets and businesses needing to communicate in remote regions or where there is no reliable terrestrial network.

1 Overview
2 Coverage
3 Satellites
4 Country codes
5 Networks
6 History
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Overview

Aside from its commercial services, Inmarsat provides global distress and safety services (GMDSS) to ships and aircraft at no charge, as a public service.

Services include traditional voice calls, low-level data tracking systems, and high-speed data services as well as distress and safety services. The most recent of these provides GPRS-type services at up to 492 kbit/s via the BGAN IP satellite modem the size of a notebook computer. Other services provide mobile ISDN services used by the media for live reporting on world events via videophone.

Historically expensive, calls via Inmarsat have now dropped to a level where they are comparable, and in many cases favorable, to international roaming costs, or hotel phone calls. Voice call charges are the same wherever in the world the service is used. Tariffs for calls to Inmarsat country codes vary, depending on the country in which they are placed. Inmarsat uses primarily country code 870, but continues to use country codes 871 to 874. Country codes 871 to 874 will be phased out and returned to the ITU to be made available for other purposes on December 31, 2008.

Newer Inmarsat services using IP technology feature an always-on capability where the users are simply charged for the amount of data they send and receive rather than the length of time they are online. This applies specifically to BGAN, Regional BGAN, and MPDS.

The satellites are digital transponders that receive digital signals, reform the pulses, and then retransmit them to ground stations. The ground stations perform billing and act as gateways to the public switched telephone network and Internet.

Inmarsat's most recent series of satellites, known as the "I4 series", were launched in June and November 2005. These were the largest commercial telecommunications satellites ever launched. Each satellite is equipped with a global beam, 19 regional spot beams, and 228 narrow spot beams. A third I4 satellite is scheduled for launch in April 2008.

In addition to its own satellites, Inmarsat has a collaboration agreement with ACeS regarding handheld voice services.

[edit] Coverage

Inmarsat Global HQ on Old Street, London. (January 2006)

There are 3 types of coverage related to each Inmarsat satellite.

Global beam coverage: Each satellite is equipped with a single global beam that covers up to one-third of the Earth's surface, apart from the poles. In general, global beam coverage extends from latitudes of −78 to +78 degrees regardless of longitude.

Wide spot beam coverage: It relates to the overlap of the wide spot beams (a set of narrower beams creating a coverage pattern). Wide spot beam coverage is optimised for covering most areas of interest to Inmarsat's customers and is thus somewhat limited in comparison to global beam coverage. This coverage was introduced with the I-3 satellites. Each I-4 satellite provides 19 wide spot beams.

Narrow spot beam coverage: It relates to the overlap of the narrow spot beams (a set of very narrow beams creating a coverage pattern). Narrow spot beam coverage is designed to form the backbone of Inmarsat's broadband services, including the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN). This coverage is introduced with the I-4 satellites. Each I-4 satellite provides 228 narrow spot beams.

[edit] Satellites

Satellite	Coverage		Launch		Services / Notes
Satellite		Longitude	Vehicles	Date (GMT)	Services / Notes
Inmarsat-4 satellites
Inmarsat-4 F1^[2]	IOR	64° east	Atlas V	11 Mar 2005	BGAN and Regional BGAN services only.
Inmarsat-4 F2	AOR-West	53° west	Sea Launch Zenit 3SL	8 Nov 2005	Nearly all Inmarsat services.
Inmarsat-4 F3			Proton rocket	2Q 2008	Planned. International Launch Services.^[3]
Inmarsat-3 satellites
Inmarsat-3 F1	IOR	65° east	Atlas Centaur IIA	3 April 1996	Existing and evolved services only.
Inmarsat-3 F2	AOR-E	15.5° west	Proton D-1-E	6 Sep 1996	Existing and evolved services only.
Inmarsat-3 F3	POR	178° east	Atlas Centaur IIA	18 Dec 1996	Existing and evolved services only.
Inmarsat-3 F4	PAC-C	142° west	Ariane 4 (V97)	3 Jun 1997	Various leases.
Inmarsat-3 F5	IND-W	25° east	Ariane 4 (V105)	4 Feb 1998	Various leases.
Inmarsat-2 satellites (These satellites are primarily used for leases.)
Inmarsat-2 F1	PAC-W	143.5° east	Delta II [1]	30 Oct 1990	expected operational life 2010
Inmarsat-2 F2	PAC-E	98° west	Delta II [2]	8 Mar 1991	expected operational life 2010
Inmarsat-2 F3			Ariane 44L	16 Dec 1991	decommissioned 2006
Inmarsat-2 F4	IND-E	109° east	Proton	April 1992	expected operational life 2016

[edit] Country codes

The permanent telephone country code for calling Inmarsat destinations is:

870 SNAC (Single Network Access Code)

Country codes in temporary use until December 31, 2008 are

871 Atlantic Ocean Region – East (AOR-E)
872 Pacific Ocean Region (POR)
873 Indian Ocean Region (IOR)
874 Atlantic Ocean Region – West (AOR-W)

The 870 SNAC number is actually a locator service so that you don't have to know to which satellite the destination Inmarsat terminal is logged-in. SNAC is now usable by all Inmarsat systems.

The other four country codes correspond to the areas which Inmarsat satellites cover (normally one satellite per area). These areas are commonly called "Ocean Regions". With the advent of SNAC on 870, the other country codes no longer needed, but are still preferred by some users. These four codes will be phased out on December 31, 2008, as required by the ITU.

[edit] Networks

Inmarsat has gradually developed a series of networks providing certain sets of services (most networks support multiple services). They are grouped into two sets, existing and evolved services, and IP-based services. Existing and evolved services are offered through Land Earth Stations which are not owned nor operated by Inmarsat, but through companies which have a commercial agreement with Inmarsat. IP-based services are provided via distribution partners but the satellite gateways are owned and operated by Inmarsat directly.

IP-based shared-carrier services, as follows:

Regional BGAN: RBGAN offers a shared-channel IP packet-switched service of up to 144 kbit/s based on GPRS technology. Coverage is limited to parts of Europe, Asia, Africa & Australia. The new Inmarsat-4 satellite for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has taken over RBGAN service from the Thuraya satellite. The new Inmarsat-4 satellite for AOR-West now provides service to South America and the Western edges of Europe and Africa, however no service is offered to North or Central America. Inmarsat have announced the closure of the RBGAN service in 31 december 2008.

BGAN: Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) benefits from the new I-4 satellites to offer a shared-channel IP packet-switched service of up to 492 kbit/s (uplink and downlink speeds may differ and depend on terminal model) and a streaming-IP service from 32 up to 256 kbit/s (services depend on terminal model). Certain terminals also offer circuit-switched Mobile ISDN services at 64 kbit/s and even low speed (4.8 kbit/s) voice etc services. BGAN service is available on the IOR satellite and AOR-West satellite, with POR service planned for 2Q 2008. The BGAN family includes SwiftBroadband, a service planned for aircraft, and FleetBroadband, a service planned for ships and the maritime community.

Fleet Broadband (FB): Fleet Broadband is based on BGAN technology, offering similar services and using the same infrastructure as BGAN. Fleet Broadband is designed for Maritime use, and user terminals are designed for fitting on ships.

Swift Broadband (SB): Like FB, Swift Broadband is based on BGAN and offers similar services. SB is designed for aeronautical users and terminals are specifically designed for use aboard commercial, private, and military aircraft.

Historic services, termed "Existing and Evolved", as follows:

Aeronautical (Classic Aero): provides voice/fax/data services for aircraft. Three levels of terminals, Aero-L (Low Gain Antenna) primarily for packet data including ACARS and ADS, Aero-H (High Gain Antenna) for medium quality voice and fax/data at up to 9600 bit/s, and Aero-I (Intermediate Gain Antenna) for low quality voice and fax/data at up to 2400 bit/s. Note, there are also aircraft rated versions of Inmarsat-C and mini-M/M4. The aircraft version of GAN is called Swift64 (below)

Inmarsat-B: provides voice services, telex services, medium speed fax/data services at 9.6 kbit/s and high speed data services at 56, 64 or 128 kbit/s. There is also a 'leased' mode for Inmarsat-B available on the spare Inmarsat satellites.

Inmarsat-C: effectively this is a "satellite telex" terminal with store-and-forward, polling etc capabilities. Certain models of Inmarsat-C terminals are also approved for usage in the GMDSS system, equipped with GPS.

Inmarsat-M: provides voice services at 4.8 kbit/s and medium speed fax/data services at 2.4 kbit/s. It paved the way towards Inmarsat-Mini-M.

Mini-M: provides voice services at 4.8 kbit/s and medium speed fax/data services at 2.4 kbit/s. Uses Inmarsat's zonal ray technology

GAN (Global Area Network): provides a selection of low speed services like voice at 4.8 kbit/s, fax & data at 2.4 kbit/s, ISDN like services at 64 kbit/s (called Mobile ISDN) and shared-channel IP packet-switched data services at 64 kbit/s (called Mobile Packet Data Service MPDS, formerly Inmarsat Packet Data Service – IPDS). GAN is also known as "M4".

Fleet: actually a family of networks that includes the Inmarsat-Fleet77, Inmarsat-Fleet55 and Inmarsat-Fleet33 members. Much like GAN, it provides a selection of low speed services like voice at 4.8 kbit/s, fax/data at 2.4 kbit/s, medium speed services like fax/data at 9.6 kbit/s, ISDN like services at 64 kbit/s (called Mobile ISDN) and shared-channel IP packet-switched data services at 64 kbit/s (called Mobile Packet Data Service MPDS). However, not all these services are available with all members of the family. The latest service to be supported is Mobile ISDN at 128 kbit/s on Inmarsat-Fleet77 terminals.

Swift 64: Similar to GAN, providing voice, low rate fax/data, 64kb/s ISDN, and MPDS services, for private, business, and commercial aircraft. Swift 64 is often sold in a multi-channel version, to support several times 64kb/s.

Inmarsat-D/D+: Inmarsat's version of a pager, although much larger than terrestrial versions. Some units are equipped with GPS. The original Inmarsat-D terminals were one-way (to mobile) pagers. The newer Inmarsat-D+ terminals are the equivalent of a two-way pager. The main use of this technology nowadays is in tracking trucks and buoys and SCADA applications. Inmarsat D+ is the only GPS tracking service available via Inmarsat. Competing systems such as from Skybitz only operate on the MSAT geostationary satellite over North America.

MPDS (Mobile Packet Data Service): Previously known as IPDS, this is an IP-based data service in which several users share a 64kb/s carrier in a manner similar to ADSL. MPDS-specific terminals are not sold; rather, this is a service which comes with most terminals that are designed for GAN, Fleet, and Swift64.

Handheld Voice Services

IsatPhone: provides voice services at 4.8 kbit/s and medium speed fax/data services at 2.4 kbit/s. Emerges from a collaboration agreement with ACeS. This service is available in most of the coverage area provided by the IOR satellite located at 64 degrees East longitude. This covers most of Europe, Asia, Africa, and western Australia. Isatphone service will be available in America in 2009.

[edit] History

Inmarsat was originally founded as the International Maritime Satellite Organization (IMSO) as a not-for-profit international organization in 1979, at the behest of the International Maritime Organization ("IMO", a UN body) for the purpose of establishing a satellite communications network for the maritime community. From the beginning the acronym "Inmarsat" was used. The intent was to create a self-financing body which would improve safety of life at sea. The name was changed to International Mobile Satellite Organization when it began to provide services to aircraft and portable users, but the acronym "Inmarsat" was kept. When the organization was corporatized, the company was split into two parts: the bulk of the organization was converted into the commercial company Inmarsat plc, and a small group became the regulatory body IMSO. In spite of the commercial structure, Inmarsat has maintained its traditional multicultural atmosphere of some 45 nationalities in the London headquarters. Inmarsat continues to ensure it meets the requirements of a Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) as established by the IMO.

Inmarsat has been based in London throughout its history, where the vast majority of its 400 staff are located.

In 2001, Inmarsat commissioned an independent commercial market research agency, Gilmour Research to assess the extent of the Crew Calling market, in order to determine demand for non-business and domestic satellite communications onboard merchant ships. The results of over 600 face-to-face interviews, many of them onboard vessels in major harbours including Southampton, Rotterdam and Singapore established that a market existed but that onboard non-business communications were often prohibited on merchant vessels. A follow-up survey in 2006 by the same company established that this situation had changed dramatically. The majority of Crew Calling calls now pass over Inmarsat satellites and Crew Calling is one of the fastest-growing revenue sectors in maritime satellite communications.

Historic Services (no longer available)

Inmarsat-A: provided voice services, telex services, medium speed fax/data services and, optionally, high speed data services at 56 or 64 kbit/s. As described in the December edition of the MSUA (Mobile Satellite Users Association) newsletter: "After a lifetime of excellent service the grand-daddy of mobile satellite communications was retired on December 31, 2007. Revolutionary and innovative in its time, Inmarsat-A underpinned the founding of Inmarsat as a company and was an essential consideration when the IMO specified the FGMDSS (now called “GMDSS”) requirements. It was the first mobile satellite communications system. Initially designed for ships, it began service on leased transponders aboard three satellites (AORE, IOR, and POR), and offered priority communications for emergency and distress. The Inmarsat-A system served the maritime community superbly for 32 years, starting life as Comsat’s “Marisat” service in the mid 1970s before being transferred to Inmarsat as “Standard-A” in 1982. The analog system on which it is based has proved to be well designed and robust, yet flexible in its ability to support the wide variety of assorted enhanced services which were gradually built atop its solid foundation. It broke new ground as the first mobile satellite communications system, and the first commercial application of the now ubiquitous ALOHA random access concept. It outlived by far the Marecs, MCS and Marisat payloads launched into space to support the fledgling service. But times changed. When it was originally introduced, it was considered a remarkably compact and low-cost satellite telephone and telex system, even though a first-generation shipboard installation was packed into a rack 2m high and was considered a bargain at a cost of merely $100,000 per terminal. (By comparison, today's handheld satellite terminals cost a few hundred dollars and fit into a shirt-pocket.) By 1986 it had 3800 users and was growing quickly. Its popularity peaked in the 1990s, when Inmarsat-A supported up to 18,016 mobile users (1996), operating through 43 separate land earth stations antennas across the globe. The traffic level peaked at 8.2 million minutes/month in the summer of 1994, concluding that year with annual usage of almost 93 million minutes. But since then, the digital revolution has drawn users to newer, lower cost, smaller and lighter technologies. When it closed, Inmarsat-A supported only a few dozen active users and the traffic was steadily decreasing."

Inmarsat-E: A global maritime distress alerting service using small Emergency Position Indicating Rescue Beacons (EPIRB) that automatically relayed distress messages to maritime Rescue Coordination Centres. This service was terminated [3] in agreement and coordination with the IMO and IMSO, and is no longer available. Inmarsat moved all users to the 406 MHz system, an equivalent EPIRB working via Cospas-Sarsat satellites, when the Inmarsat-E service was switched off on December 1, 2006. The service was terminated due to lack of interest from the maritime community.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

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