BGan on Everest

If you ever intend going up Mount Everest then you may want to broadcast it to the world. The Inmarsat BGan makes this easy.

The 'Born out there' Everest expedition have been using this technology with great effect and posting their videos to YouTube. See their blog for information, pictures that will make you go 'wow', and of course YouTube videos that are crisp clear.

Test Your Satellite Phone Week

Iridium's Annual Test Your Satellite Phone launching May 25, 2009.

SatComm is pleased to participate in this important initiative and encourages satellite phone users to regularly test their satellite phones to ensure that they are ready to make that critical call.

To “Test Your Satellite Phone” call 0014807525105. Callers will hear a recorded message confirming that their call was completed and offering quick tips on proper handset usage. Iridium customers are not charged for the call. If you find that your phone is not operational contact us immediately.

Tips and techniques available for satellite phone use and testing are included, such as:

•Test your phone on a monthly basis.

• Keep your phone’s battery charged to ensure that it is ready for use when needed.

•For maximum battery performance, allow the battery to drain completely before fully recharging.

•Check to make sure that the phone’s SIM card is locked in place. Users can check this by removing the battery and ensuring that the SIM card tray is securely positioned.

•Use the phone outside with a clear view of the sky and the horizon.

•Turn the phone on and ensure that the antenna is extended and rotated upward.

Contact us today, we'll give you a great reception.

Arianespace to launch Alphasat I-XL for Inmarsat

Inmarsat has chosen Arianespace to launch its new Alphasat I-XL communications satellite. This contract follows a partnership agreement between Inmarsat and the European Space Agency (ESA) concerning the commercialization of the first mission to use the new European platform, Alphabus.

Planned for launch in 2012, Alphasat I-XL will be carried by an Ariane 5 ECA in from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

The satellite will be built by Astrium using an Alphabus platform, and will weigh more than six metric tons at launch. The new-generation Alphasat I-XL will be positioned at 25 degrees East, and will join Inmarsat’s current satellite fleet of 11 geostationary satellites to offer advanced mobile voice and data communications services across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Its design life is 15 years.

Arianespace and Inmarsat have an established relationship reaching back to the launch of the first Inmarsat satellites. The British-based company has chosen Arianespace to launch five of its satellites.

Commenting on this latest contract, Arianespace Chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said: “Just a few days after the magnificent launch of ESA’s two scientific satellite, Herschel and Planck, we are both proud and honored to once again be working with ESA on a project that supports the deployment of very powerful payloads. We would also like to thank Inmarsat for their loyalty to Arianespace over the last 28 years. This is the eighth contract we have signed in 2009 with the world’s leading operators, clear recognition of the quality and competitiveness of our launch Service & Solutions.”

Source: Arianspace

Iridium 9505A

Below is a short clip of the Iridium 9505A being used during the Katrina disaster.

Source: Iridium

Endurance Runners use BGan

"More than 200 runners are tackling one of the planet's most gruelling endurance races, with BGAN beaming news direct from the event in the world's oldest desert.

RacingThePlanet's 4 Desert series comes to Namibia on 17 May, for a seven-day, 155-mile (250 km) self-supported foot-race through the Namib desert.
A field of 214 from 38 countries is expected to participate, including a record number of past champions who will be vying for top places. Many will be raising money for local and international charities.

News cyber-tent
Competitors will have access to a cyber-tent, which will house 15 laptops for sending up-to-the-minute results, field updates, daily journals, video clips and pictures via BGAN to the race website and supporters around the world.
The event kicks off with a steep descent into the Fish River Canyon, the second deepest canyon in the world.

Competitors will make their way through the African bush traversing lunar-like landscapes and some of the most demanding and challenging sand dunes in the world to finish at the Skeleton Coast.

This years RacingThePlanet has already visited Chile and events are also planned for the Gobi desert in China and the Sahara in Egypt."

Source: Inmarsat

Iridium Open Port

Iridium reports that its new-generation global marine satellite communication system, Iridium OpenPort™, has successfully completed sea trials on a number of different vessels, and worldwide commercial rollout is now underway.

“The feedback from beta test platforms has been overwhelmingly positive, and we have a strong backlog of orders from shipowners who recognize the unique value proposition of Iridium OpenPort,” said Don Thoma, executive vice president, Marketing, Iridium. “In the current economic climate, shipowners are looking for ways to trim operating costs for ships at sea, and Iridium OpenPort offers a very cost-effective alternative to other broadband satellite systems in terms of hardware, installation and monthly usage costs,” Thoma added.

Thoma noted that Iridium OpenPort is the only truly global high-bandwidth marine satellite communication system, with coverage over 100 percent of the Earth’s surface, including Polar waters beyond the reach of geostationary satellites.
Frank Coles, President and CEO of Globe Wireless, an Iridium Service Provider, said, "We have conducted exhaustive testing of Iridium OpenPort systems, and we have successful tests on customer ships. The pilot testing we have done showed that the OpenPort system was capable of handing a large volume of data and provided quality voice services. We are now rolling out systems to our customer's ships, who are seeing significant reductions in voice and data costs."

“Iridium OpenPort is as easy to use as the Internet at home,” said Jérémie Béyou, skipper of Delta-Dore and Vendee Globe participant. “The greatest feature is that you can stay connected permanently without the need to re-start the modem and antenna every time you want to receive or send an e-mail. The connection speed is good and allows you to make phone calls while surfing the Internet, and the terminal is really easy to install.”

Introduced in mid-2008, Iridium OpenPort provides three independent phone lines and a separate scalable data circuit supporting speeds of 9.6 to 128 kilobytes per second. Data rates can easily be adjusted up or down without any modifications to hardware or software. The low-profile, lightweight antenna array does not require a stabilized pedestal and is therefore less costly to purchase, install and maintain.

Source: Iridium Press Release

Journalist relies on BGan

'Photojournalist Chris Jackson, who was honoured for his part in helping to save the life of a US marine, regularly uses BGAN to transmit footage back from war zones.

Chris Jackson was embedded with 2nd Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marines in Afghanistan last August when the Humvee vehicle in which he was travelling hit 22kgs (50lbs) of explosives, severely injuring vehicle commander Sergeant Courtney Rauch.

Jackson was thrown out of the vehicle by the force of the blast. Despite suffering shrapnel wounds, he rushed back to the vehicle to pull Sgt Rauch out and carry him to safety.

Live broadcasts
He was rewarded with a Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, the second highest award given to civilians by the navy.

Jackson has been reporting from war zones since soon after 9/11, and is expected to return to Afghanistan for another six-week embed.

He uses Panasonic and Sony cameras, edits footage using Final Cut Pro on a Mac laptop, and sends the package back to base via BGAN. For live broadcasts, he uses BGAN in conjunction with Streambox software. '

Source: Inmarsat

Voting via satellite

A couple weeks ago, South Africa, held elections. For some it's a quick process of voting, but for others it can take a while due to long queues. Brazil held its first electronic elections last year. They are in fact the first country in the world to implement fully electronic elections. How did they achieve such a feat? By using BGan technology of course.

The BGan units were used for both voice calls and data transfers and they were able to isolate their network from the Internet to prevent unauthorised access. Brazil were actually able to release their results on the same day as voting. They also reported that the BGan units suffered no downtime despite heavy usage.

I'm quite certain that other countries will be investigating this technology and it is only a matter of time before we in South Africa start voting electronically.

Henshaw Challenge

One of our clients is attempting to break a world record starting today. Charles Stobbart will try to break, the just over, 70 year record set by Alex Henshaw. He will be travelling with an Iridium 9505 Satellite Phone for communication purposes. Since Iridium phones work everywhere, he will be well covered.

" 5th February 1939, Alex Henshaw set out to create a world record. He flew is 200hp Percival Mew Gull from London to Cape Town, then back to London again in 4 days 10 hours and 16 minutes.

This record has stood for just over 70 years!

In may 2009, Charles 'Chalkie' Stobbart will attempt to break this solo record in his Osprey GP4 single engine homebuilt aircraft..

The adventure begins...."

On the below website you will be able to be kept up to date with exactly where he is over the globe using google mapping technology.

UPDATE! Chalkie broke the record. He did it in 3 Days, 15 Hours and 17mins. 

Source: Henshaw Challenge

2000 and counting..

Inmarsat has announced that it has activated more than 2,000 FleetBroadband terminals. The achievement comes less than 18 months after the service was launched, making FleetBroadband Inmarsat's fastest growing maritime service.

What is Fleetbroadband?
FleetBroadband is the first maritime communications service to provide cost-effective broadband data and voice, simultaneously, through a compact antenna on a global basis. Based on 3G standards, FleetBroadband provides constant, simultaneous access to voice and high-speed data services, on a global basis. You can send and receive email with large file attachments, comfortably run complex data applications and make voice calls at the same time – more affordably than ever before. The terminal is quick and easy to install and has been tested and approved to exacting standards.

Save the Whales

"Endangered whales are being protected from their biggest threat with the help of Inmarsat safety services.
After almost being wiped out by whaling before its ban in 1935, North Atlantic right whales now face extinction through collisions with commercial ships and entanglement in fishing gear.
With only 350 to 400 right whales left, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists them as one of the most endangered whale species.
Shipping lanes
But a mandatory ship reporting system (MSR) developed by the US Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is helping vessels steer clear of the whales in the busy shipping lanes crossing their habitats.
It provides ships with the most up-to-date sightings from NOAA so they can watch out for and make way for the whales, which reach 18 metres (59 feet) in length.
The sightings are received via Inmarsat C or as standard internet-based emails."

Source: Inmarsat