Information assurance

Seamless, reliable and secure

Military operations require seamless, reliable and secure communications between end-users. Inmarsat is a trusted provider and works closely with its distribution partners to meet the information assurance requirements of government users.

Inmarsat services have been used in theatre with secure voice and data encryption for years. Building on this experience, our BGAN service is compatible with US legacy encryption (STU-III, STE, STU-IIB), as well as emerging NSA standards for type-1 IP encrypters.

A range of commercial grade encryption has also been successfully tested over BGAN, including:

Test reports

BGAN as an executive command and control enhancement - (PDF) 

Integration of Satellite Broadband Data into UH-60 Blackhawk - (PDF)

Validation of encryption devices over BGAN (1) - (PDF)

Validation of encryption devices over BGAN (2) - (PDF)

Network security

We operate a fully redundant terrestrial network. Our satellite access stations (SASs) in the Netherlands and Italy are linked by leased fibre to each other and to network and satellite operation centres in London. We also operate a "hot" back-up operations centre at a secure off-site location.

A range of direct interconnect options are available in consultation with Inmarsat's distribution partners. Interconnect options are being extended further with the introduction of Inmarsat's new SAS in Hawaii, planned for 2008.

Inmarsat protects the satellite command links with NSA type-1 encryption.

Reliability

Designed to support the most demanding safety-at-sea requirements, the Inmarsat satellite constellation has the best record for reliability in the industry.