Inmarsat To Highlight Technologies That Will Transform Communications in Africa 

(MENAFN Press) CAPE TOWN - Tuesday, November 13th 2012

Inmarsat(LSE:ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, will preview some of the revolutionary services enabled by new satellites to be launched from next year on stand E17e at AfricaCom. Inmarsat will also showcase its recently expanded portfolio of offerings for African businesses, government and individuals.

Inmarsat will redefine mobile satellite services with higher streaming speeds and two satellite launches in 2013. Its upcoming Alphasat I-XL satellite launch will enhance L-band service capabilities across Africa, providing even faster streaming performance. This will be followed by the highly anticipated rollout of its new Global Xpressnetwork, which will deliver global superfast broadband.

The only satellite provider to be making such a huge investment in new technologies, Inmarsat is delivering an array of new services and faster communications that are transforming communications. Organisations across Africa are choosing to rely on satellite networks for voice, real-time broadband and M2M (machine-to-machine) connectivity to support employees in remote locations to ensure the operation of critical infrastructure, and deliver the same services at remote branches as those available in large cities.

"From Cairo to Cape Town, African city dwellers have started to enjoy the luxury of high-speed data thanks to the increase in urban fibre and 3G networks. But for many of us the urge to be connected can cause intense frustration in rural areas where network access is limited or unavailable. Satellite is rapidly filling this void," said Alastair Bovim, managing director, Inmarsat Solutions South Africa.

"When other networks are congested or fail “ perhaps during heavy rain, Saharan dust storms or even earthquakes “ L-band satellite will continue to meet our growing dependence on 'always on' communications," he added.

In 2013, Inmarsat's new higher BGAN streaming rate will provide speeds in excess of 600 kbps with a new BGAN terminal to be available in the second half of 2013. Users will still benefit from the portability and ease of use that are the hallmarks of the BGAN service.

Inmarsat Global Xpress(GX) will be the world's first global Ka-band network, providing broadband speeds of up to 50Mbps to mobile, portable and fixed devices. The first satellite, covering Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia is scheduled for launch in Q3 2013, with global coverage planned for 2014.

Global Xpress will consistently deliver the highest performance through more compact terminals at a lower cost than existing VSAT services “ while maintaining the reliability, and quality of service, Inmarsat is renowned for.

Global Xpress will allow some more advanced applications, such as high definition live broadcasting or real-time video monitoring of remote mining sites, alongside standard email and web browsing at a much faster speed, thus enhancing the current BGAN services. More fundamentally, it will also provide businesses across the continent with a competitive service offering support to corporate networks, and giving cellular operators another option for backhaul.

At AfricaCom, Inmarsat will demonstrate the breadth of its portfolio including: its award-winning BGAN service, which provides simultaneous voice and broadband data communications globally; BGAN Link, a broadband data service for organisations requiring high volumes of data volumes; BGAN M2M, a global two-way IP data service for M2M communications; IsatPhone Pro, its low-cost satellite phone providing high quality voice

IsatPhone Link, a low-cost, fixed-line global satellite phone service for people based in rural or remote areas outside of cellular coverage.