Ground stations route phone calls and data

We operate a sophisticated ground network that connects customers using the Inmarsat satellites to terrestrial networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the internet.

Inmarsat’s on-going investment in ground infrastructure ensures that customers enjoy an overall 99 per cent network availability – the highest in the mobile satellite industry.

Our ground stations – also known as satellite access stations (SASs) or land earth stations (LESs) – act as traffic gateways between the terrestrial networks and the Inmarsat satellites.

Network Operations Centre monitors traffic

The Inmarsat-4 L-band ground stations are located in Hawaii, The Netherlands and Italy, and are manned 24/7. They are monitored continuously from our Network Operations Centre (NOC) in London.

The NOC is responsible for the co-ordination of all network activities, and the monitoring and troubleshooting of the Inmarsat data communications network.

As well as carrying user traffic, the data communications network connects other sites around the world – including data centres in New York, Amsterdam and Hong Kong – with signalling and other network management traffic.

GX gateways ensure highest levels of availability

For Global Xpress (GX) each satellite will be served by two fully redundant ground stations to ensure the highest levels of network availability. Inmarsat has appointed iDirect to develop the ground network, as well as the core module technology that will be integrated into the satellite terminals.

A total of six GX satellite access stations will act as gateways between the broadband traffic routed via the three Inmarsat-5 (I-5) satellites and terrestrial fixed networks.

I-5 F1: Indian Ocean Region (IOR) – served by satellite access stations in Fucino, Italy, hosted by Inmarsat partner Telespazio,  and in Nemea, Greece, by OTE.

I-5 F2: Atlantic Ocean Region (AOR) and Americas – partners Telesat and Encompass Digital Media are hosting SASs in Winnipeg, Canada, and at Lino Lakes, Minnesota, USA.

I-5 F3:  Pacific Ocean Region (POR) – covered by the Warkworth satellite earth station, hosted by Telecom and located near Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island, acting as a co-primary SAS alongside Inmarsat’s own land earth station and teleport based in Auckland.