International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT)

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Shoreditch inmarsat building 1 — Inmarsat Global HQ at 99 City Road, London. (January 2006).

Over view[]

Inmarsat plc (LSE: ISAT) is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with ground stations through twelve geostationary telecommunications satellites. Inmarsat's network provides communications services to a range of governments, aid agencies, media outlets and businesses with a need to communicate in remote regions or where there is no reliable terrestrial network.

The company is now listed on the London Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index and a financial (as well as technical) sponsor of Télécoms Sans Frontières.

The plan[]

The present company originates from the International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT), a non-profit intergovernmental organization established in 1979 at the behest of the United Nations' maritime body, the UN's International Maritime Organization ( the IMO), and pursuant to the Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization, signed by 28 countries in 1976. The organisation was created to establish and operate a satellite communications network for the maritime community (ships, ports, submarines, coast guards, oil rigs, etc).

In coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization in the 1980s, the convention governing INMARSAT was amended to include improvements to aeronautical communications, notably for public safety. The member states owned varying shares of the operational business. The main offices were originally located in the Euston Tower, Euston Road, London.

It is not related to the intergovernmental organization formerly known as INMARSAT (International Mobile Satellite Organization).

Service[]

Inmarsat plc is a British satellite telecommunications company, started in 1979, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with ground stations through twelve geostationary telecommunications satellites. Inmarsat's network provides communications services to a range of governments, aid agencies, media outlets and businesses with a need to communicate in remote regions, out at sea, in aircraft or where there is no reliable terrestrial network (such as on high mountain tops and at the south pole).

The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index and a financial (as well as technical) sponsor of Télécoms Sans Frontières.

The satellite fleet's technical features[]

Services[]

Aside from its commercial services, Inmarsat provides global maritime distress and safety services (GMDSS) to ships and aircraft at no charge, as a public service. Marisat's MARISAT F1 was the first satellite.

Services include traditional voice calls, low-level data tracking systems, and high-speed Internet and other data services as well as distress and safety services. The most recent of these provides GPRS-type services at up to 492 kbit/s via the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) IP satellite modem the size of a notebook computer. Other services provide mobile Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) services used by the media for live reporting on world events via videophone.

The price of a call via Inmarsat has now dropped to a level where they are comparable to, and in many cases lower than, international roaming costs, or hotel phone calls. Voice call charges are the same for any location in the world where the service is used. Tariffs for calls to Inmarsat country codes vary, depending on the country in which they are placed. Inmarsat primarily uses country code 870.

Newer Inmarsat services use an IP technology that features an always-on capability where the users are only charged for the amount of data they send and receive, rather than the length of time they are connected.

The first (F1) and second (F2) of Inmarsat's most recent series of satellites, known as the "I4" satellites, were launched in June and November 2005. The third and final satellite (F3) was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on the 18 August 2008.

In addition to its own satellites, Inmarsat has a collaboration agreement with ACeS regarding handheld voice services.

Satellites[]

There are 16 satellites in orbit (a a few are now out of use) and 6 satellites offer a channel(s) for Inmmarsat's use.

Technical issues[]

Both the INMARSAT and Iridium transmition frequency bands abut each other at 1626.5 MHz thus each satcom radio has the ability to interfere with the other. Usually, the far more powerful INMARSAT radio disrupts the Iridium radio up to 10–800 metres away.

Corporate status[]

Name- Inmarsat plc.
company type- Public company.
Traded as- LSE: ISAT.
Industry- Satellite communication.
Founded- 1979; 37 years ago.
Headquarters- The Inmarsat head office is at Old Street Roundabout in the London Borough of Islington, England, UK.
Key people- Andrew Sukawaty (Chairman); Rupert Pearce (CEO).
Revenue US$1,274.1 million (2015).
Operating income- US$426.4 million (2015).
Net income- US$282.0 million (2015).
Website- www.inmarsat.com.

International Maritime Satellite Organization (INMARSAT)

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