| Type | Public company (LSE: ISAT) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Satellite communication |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
| Key people | Andrew Sukawaty (Chairman and CEO) |
| Revenue | US$1,171.6 million (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | US$460.6 million (2010)[1] |
| Net income | US$261.1 million (2010)[1] |
| Website | www.inmarsat.com |
Inmarsat plc (LSE: ISAT) is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. It provides telephony and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate to ground stations through eleven geostationary telecommunications satellites. Inmarsat's network provides communications services to a range of governments, aid agencies, media outlets and businesses with a need to communicate in remote regions or where there is no reliable terrestrial network. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index as of December 2011.
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The company was originally founded in 1979 as the International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat), a not-for-profit international organization, set up 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.[2] It began trading in 1982.[3] 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 organisation was converted into a private company in 1999, the business was split into two parts: The bulk of the organisation was converted into the commercial company, Inmarsat plc, and a small group became the regulatory body, IMSO.[4] In 2005 Apax Partners and Permira bought shares in the Company. The Company was also first listed on the London Stock Exchange in that year.[5] In March 2008 it was disclosed that U.S. hedge fund Harbinger Capital owned 28% of the company.[6] In July 2009, Inmarsat completed the acquisition of a 19-per-cent stake in SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc., a provider of Inmarsat D+/IsatM2M network services which in turn purchased the GlobalWave business from TransCore.[7] On 15 April 2009 Inmarsat completed the acquisition of satellite communications provider Stratos Global Corporation (Stratos)
Inmarsat won the 2010 MacRobert Award for its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service,[8] overcoming the three other shortlisted companies[9] – Chas. A. Blatchford & Sons Ltd. for the Echelon hydraulic ankle-foot for amputees, Cobham Technical Services for the Minehound dual sensor land mine detector, and Lucite International UK Ltd for the Alpha process for methyl methacrylate.
Aside from its commercial services, Inmarsat provides global maritime distress and safety services (GMDSS) to ships and aircraft at no charge, as a public service.[10]
Services include traditional voice calls, low-level data tracking systems, and high-speed Internet and other 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 Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) IP satellite modem the size of a notebook computer.[11] Other services provide mobile Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) services used by the media for live reporting on world events via videophone.[12]
The price of a call via Inmarsat has 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 for any location in the world where the service is used. Tariffs for calls to Inmarsat country codes vary, depending on the country in which they are placed. Inmarsat primarily uses country code 870 (see below).[13]
Newer Inmarsat services use an IP technology that features an always-on capability where the users are only charged for the amount of data they send and receive, rather than the length of time they are connected.[14] This applies specifically to BGAN and MPDS.
The satellites are digital transponders that receive digital signals, reform the pulses, and then retransmit them to ground stations. Ground stations maintain usage and billing data and function as gateways to the public switched telephone network and the Internet.
The first (F1) and second (F2) of Inmarsat's most recent series of satellites, known as the "I4" satellites, were launched in June and November 2005. The third and final satellite (F3) was launched from the Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the 18 August 2008.[15] These were the largest commercial telecommunications satellites ever launched. Each satellite is equipped with a global beam, 19 regional spot beams, and over 200 narrow spot beams.
In addition to its own satellites, Inmarsat has a collaboration agreement with ACeS regarding handheld voice services.[16]
There are 3 types of coverage related to each Inmarsat satellite.[17]
| Satellite | Coverage | Longitude | Vehicles | Launch Date (GMT) | Services / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inmarsat-4 satellites | |||||
| Inmarsat-4 F1[18] | I-4 Asia-Pacific | 143.5° east | Atlas V (431) | 11 Mar 2005 | BGAN family, SPS, and lease services. |
| Inmarsat-4 F2[19] | I-4 Europe, Middle-East, Africa | 25° east | Sea Launch Zenit-3SL | 8 Nov 2005 | BGAN family, SPS, and lease services |
| Inmarsat-4 F3[20] | I-4 Americas | 98° west | Proton-M/Briz-M | 18 Aug 2008 | BGAN family and lease services |
| Inmarsat-3 satellites | |||||
| Inmarsat-3 F1 | IOR | 64.5° east | Atlas IIA | 3 April 1996 | Existing and evolved services only. |
| Inmarsat-3 F2 | AOR-E | 15.5° west | Proton-K D-1-E | 6 Sep 1996 | Existing and evolved services only. |
| Inmarsat-3 F3 | POR | 178° east | Atlas IIA | 18 Dec 1996 | Existing and evolved services only. |
| Inmarsat-3 F4 | AOR-W | 54° west | Ariane 44L (V97) | 3 Jun 1997 | Existing and evolved services only. |
| Inmarsat-3 F5 | I-3 Europe, Middle-East, Africa | 25° east | Ariane 44LP (V105) | 4 Feb 1998 | Various leases. |
| Inmarsat-2 satellites (These satellites are primarily used for leases.) | |||||
| Inmarsat-2 F1 | Delta II (6925) | 30 Oct 1990 | Decommissioned | ||
| Inmarsat-2 F2 | POR | 143° east | Delta II (6925) | 8 Mar 1991 | Various leases. |
| Inmarsat-2 F3 | Ariane 44L | 16 Dec 1991 | Decommissioned 2006 | ||
| Inmarsat-2 F4 | IND-E | 109° east | Proton-K | 15 April 1992 | Expected operational life 2012 |
The permanent telephone country code for calling Inmarsat destinations is:[13]
The 870 number is an automatic locator; you don't have to know to which satellite the destination Inmarsat terminal is logged-in. SNAC is now usable by all Inmarsat services.
Country codes phased out on 31 December 2008 were
The other four country codes corresponded to the areas that Inmarsat satellites cover (normally one satellite per area). These areas were commonly called "Ocean Regions". With the advent of SNAC on 870, the older country codes were no longer needed. They were formally phased out on 31 December 2008 but may still be routed by some regional carriers.
Inmarsat has developed a series of networks providing certain sets of services (most networks support multiple services). They are grouped into two sets, 1) existing and evolved services, and 2) advanced 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. Advanced services are provided via distribution partners but the satellite gateways are owned and operated by Inmarsat directly.
ADVANCED SERVICES
The "BGAN Family" is a set of IP-based shared-carrier services, as follows:[21]
M2M communications
Global Voice Services
Existing and Evolved services, based on older technologies, as follows:[22]
Withdrawn Services
Global Xpress. In August 2010 Inmarsat awarded Boeing a contract to build a constellation of three Inmarsat-5 satellites, as part of a US$1.2 billion worldwide wireless broadband network called Inmarsat Global Xpress. The three Inmarsat-5 (I-5) satellites will be based on Boeing's 702HP spacecraft platform. The first is scheduled for completion in 2013, with full global coverage expected by the end of 2014. The satellites will operate at Ka-band in the range of 20–30 GHz. Each Inmarsat-5 will carry a payload of 89 small Ka-band beams which combined will offer global Ka-band spot coverage. There are plans to offer high-speed inflight broadband on airliners.[24]
In February 2011 Inmarsat announced that iDirect had been awarded the contract to provide both the ground segment and the 'core module' that provides the key electronics in the new GX maritime (and later for other markets) terminals. [25] iDirect was already established as the leading player in the maritime VSAT field and the award of this contract confirmed their dominance of this market. The proposed GX system will deliver data at rates of up to 50 Mbit/s -an order of magnitude faster than existing VSAT systems using C-band or Ku-band satellite capacity and two orders faster than the existing L-band services.
Inmarsat's foray into S-band, mobile services. On 30 June 2008 the European Parliament and the Council adopted the European’s Decision to establish a single selection and authorisation process (ESAP – European S-band Application Process) to ensure a coordinated introduction of mobile satellite services (MSS) in Europe. The selection process was launched in August 2008 and attracted four applications by prospective operators (ICO, Inmarsat, Solaris Mobile, TerreStar).[26][27]
In May 2009, the European Commission selected two operators, Inmarsat Ventures and Solaris Mobile, giving these operators “the right to use the specific radio frequencies identified in the Commission's decision and the right to operate their respective mobile satellite systems". EU Member States now have to ensure that the two operators have the right to use the specific radio frequencies identified in the Commission's decision and the right to operate their respective mobile satellite systems for 18 years from the selection decision. The operators are compelled to start operations within 24 months (May 2011) from the selection decision.[28][29][30][31]
Inmarsat's S-band satellite programme, called EuropaSat, will deliver mobile multimedia broadcast, mobile two-way broadband telecommunications and next-generation MSS services across all 27 member states of the European Union and as far east as Moscow and Ankara by means of a hybrid satellite/terrestrial network. It will be built by Thales Alenia Space and launched in early 2011 launched by ILS.[32] The EuropaSat has been put on hold in late 2009. Inmarsat instead plans to seek external investors to fund the project, and ultimately to spin it off as a separate company.
Alphasat for extended L-band services. Planned for launch in 2012, Alphasat I-XL will be carried by an Ariane 5 ECA in from the Guiana Space Centre, Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite will be built by Astrium using an Alphabus platform, and will weigh more than six tons at launch. The new-generation Alphasat I-XL will be positioned at 25 degrees East to offer advanced mobile voice and data communications services across Europe, Africa and the Middle East using L-Band. It will feature a new generation digital signal processor for the payload, a 12-meter aperture antenna reflector. Its design life is 15 years.[33]
In addition, Alphasat will embark three ESA-provided technology demonstration payloads: an advanced star tracker using active pixel technology, an optical laser terminal for geostationary to low-Earth orbit communication at high data rates and a dedicated payload for the characterization of transmission performance in the Q-V band in preparation for possible commercial exploitation of these frequencies.
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