Press release
Inmarsat to increase guaranteed data speed of BGAN
12-09-2008 - Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, has announced it is increasing the guaranteed IP data speed available on its Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service.
The enhancement, currently in development, will deliver a minimum guaranteed streaming rate of 384kbps will be introduced by mid-2009. The new premium streaming service will be available on all existing BGAN terminals that are capable of accessing current streaming rates of 256kbps, and will be accessible without the need for additional external hardware.
Inmarsat is introducing the higher streaming rate in response to demands from the media sector. A streaming service of 384kbps will offer near-broadcast quality video, and further establish BGAN as the method that major broadcasters choose for live reporting. As with current BGAN streaming rates, this premium service will be compatible with leading video and audio IP applications, including Streambox, LiveWire and Quicklink.
"We have a strong on-going relationship with the media sector, and we know that there is great demand for higher guaranteed data rates," said Robert Bishop, Commercial Manager for Land Mobile Services at Inmarsat. "By increasing BGAN's streaming rate by 50 per cent, to a minimum of 384kbps, we believe we can meet that demand and offer a service that moves closer to broadcast quality".
With development underway, Inmarsat estimates that an appropriate BGAN terminal with a good line-of-sight to the satellite could experience streaming data rates in excess of 384kbps. "Broadcasters always want faster guaranteed data speeds, but they also need a mobile service with a global reach, which is reliable, and which can be easily integrated into their news operation. BGAN is still the only service that can provide that," said Robert.
Since its launch at the end of 2005, BGAN has been used in thousands of media reports around the world, from celebrity news to war reporting. Recently, news teams in southern USA were utilising BGAN's portability and its ability to operate in any weather condition to report on Hurricane Gustav.
As an integral part of CNN's digital newsgathering solution, BGAN won both the IBC Innovation Award for Content Creation and the Judges' Award - the most prestigious innovation award, selected by a panel of international judges - in 2007. In early 2008, the BGAN-based CNN solution was awarded an Emmy by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in its Technology and Engineering Awards.
BGAN terminals currently capable of accessing the 256kbps streaming service, and which will be able to access the new premium service, are the Thrane & Thrane Explorer 700 and the Hughes HNS9201.
