Showtime for Inmarsat BGAN as service prepares to goes global

Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service is going on show for the first time at exhibitions in the Americas.

The arrival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, of the competing yachts in the Volvo Ocean Race gives Inmarsat the opportunity to promote the launch of BGAN in South America.

And BGAN will also be on show in the US at the forthcoming National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.

Plans to extend the BGAN service into the Americas are well advanced following the successful launch of F2, the second in the Inmarsat-4 (I-4) series, last November.

The seven boats competing in the Volvo Ocean Race are due to arrive in Rio on March 7 at the end of the gruelling 6,700-nautical-mile fourth leg of the race from Wellington, New Zealand.

Inmarsat's BGAN service will be on show during the stopover in Rio from March 25, when the yachts compete in an in-port race, to April 2 when they set sail on the fifth leg to Baltimore/Annapolis.

BGAN is the world's first simultaneous voice and broadband data mobile communications service accessible anywhere on the planet.

The BGAN service is accessed via small, highly portable satellite terminals, which are quick to set up and easy to use.

In Rio, Inmarsat will also showcase its most advanced maritime service - Fleet F77 - which provides global voice and high-speed fax and data services at up to 128kbps.

Fleet F77, which is fitted to each of the race boats, fully supports the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS). It also helps meet the requirements of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code, and enables the cost-effective transfer of electronic notices of arrival, crew lists, certificates and records.

Inmarsat is an official communications sponsor of the eight-month Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Vigo, Spain, last November and is due to end in Gothenburg on June 17.

Inmarsat has teamed up with two of its leading Partners - France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications and Thrane and Thrane - to deliver seamless global satellite communications and safety services to the race competitors.

Publicity from the Volvo Ocean Race will be reinforced at a number of high-profile trade events in North America during March and April.

Gartner Wireless and Mobility in Detroit from March 27-29 will provide a platform for introducing BGAN to key influencers within Fortune 100 and 200 companies. Inmarsat will exhibit alongside Partners Stratos and Xantic.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) event in Las Vegas from April 22-27 will reinforce awareness among leading media companies, and also among supplier and affiliate organizations.

"At NAB we will be providing live demonstrations of the BGAN service from our outdoor stand," says Frank August, Inmarsat's regional director for North America.

Visitors to the 22nd National Space Symposium from April 3 to 6 can also check out Inmarsat's BGAN technology. The event, organized by The Space Foundation, takes place annually and brings together leaders from Nasa and other space and government agencies, the commercial space and satellite broadcasting industry, research universities and academia, space tourism concerns, the Department of Defense, military space commands and the global space industry.

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