Inmarsat Activates 5,000th Fleetbroadband Terminal
By Inmarsat Plc, PRNEMonday, December 14, 2009
LONDON, December 15 - Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT), the leading provider of global mobile satellite
communications services, announced today that it has activated the 5,000th
FleetBroadband terminal. This figure represents commercially active SIM cards
passing operational traffic.
FleetBroadband, launched in November 2007, continues to take the maritime
industry by storm. The 5,000 FleetBroadband terminals activated through
Inmarsat's global partner network make it the fastest adopted maritime
service in the company's 30-year history. The latest member of the
FleetBroadband family, FB150, launched just 22 weeks ago, already has 500
terminals activated - a rate of adoption which is twice that of FB500 and
FB250 at a similar period after launch.
Piers Cunningham, Maritime Business Director said: "The continued strong
growth for FleetBroadband shows that it has become the de facto standard for
modern maritime communications. FB150 in particular is beating our
expectations, and no doubt those of our competitors too. FleetBroadband is
the only service that is cost effective, reliable, has a global reach and is
optimised to deliver genuine broadband connectivity."
The 5,000th terminal was activated on Happy Rover, a 1997-build owned by
Dutch company BigLift Shipping B.V., a member of the Spliethoff Group.
Established in 1921, the Spliethoff Group manages a fleet of 70 multipurpose
vessels ranging in size from 2,500 to 21,000 tonnes. It is the leading
operator in the world market of wide heavy lifting and has a fleet of 13
purpose-built heavy lift vessels provide lifting capacities of up to 1,400
tons plus ro-ro capabilities for loads up to 2,500 tonnes.
Happy Rover was fitted with an FB500 by Stratos. Stratos has managed
Spliethoff's communication for over 30 years, from the early days of telex
through to FleetBroadband; and now works closely with Peter Van de Venne, IT
Director at Spliethoff, to utilize new features like remote IT management,
and to improve the information flow between ship and shore while maintaining
control over the costs.
According to Peter Van de Venne, Happy Rover is the latest of nine
vessels to adopt FleetBroadband, with new vessels to follow. With 70 vessels
routed around the world, the global coverage and new features delivered by
FleetBroadband were a key factor in its selection. Peter Van de Venne said:
"We are particularly pleased with the remote maintenance feature. We have
refined our software programmes so we are now able to routinely check on
progress online rather than talking on the phone, which is not only costly
but can often lead to misinterpretation or misunderstanding. This way we
check with the Captain and then connect at a time that works for us here in
Amsterdam to take over the PC. Effectively, we can 'mouse move' across the
oceans, day or night, which is not only cost effective but operationally more
efficient."
With the upgrade to FleetBroadband, the 20-strong crew onboard Happy
Rover will benefit from global connectivity as they sail around the world
delivering cargo, from wire coils to barley grain. Both the officers and the
operations managers will benefit from the broadband speeds of up to 432kbps
offered by FleetBroadband, as well as its simultaneous voice and data
capability.
In the not-too-distant future Peter Van de Venne believes that the
Spliethoff Group will evaluate the benefits of slow-scan video as a solution
to such problems as engine malfunction, cargo damage and medical emergencies.
Stratos Maritime Market Manager, Michiel Meijer said: "The world's
leading shipping companies continue to select Stratos as their FleetBroadband
provider primarily due to our attractive suite of value added services. These
field-tested services, known as The Stratos Advantage, help ship managers
attain the highest possible performance and support from FleetBroadband at
the lowest possible cost."
Meijer added that The Stratos Advantage services provide users with cost
and traffic control, high-usage metering, firewall management, data
optimization, real-time traffic overviews, instant remote provisioning, high
security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and a full IP range.
Stratos has accounted for more than half of all FleetBroadband
activations worldwide. For its creative marketing approach, innovative
pricing programs and sales success, Stratos was recognized in November as the
Inmarsat Distribution Partner making the greatest contribution to
FleetBroadband growth in 2009.
About Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc (LSE: ISAT) is the leading provider of global mobile
satellite communications. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable
voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and
other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at
sea or in the air. The company's services are delivered through a global
network of around 400 distributors operating in over 100 countries. For the
year ended 31 December 2008, Inmarsat plc had total revenue of US$ 996.7
million (2007: $576.5 million) with an EBITDA of US$531.2 million (2007:
$388.1 million). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com.
About Stratos
Stratos is the world's trusted leader for vital communications. Stratos
offers the most powerful and extensive portfolio of remote communications
solutions including mobile and fixed satellite and microwave services. More
than 20,000 customers use Stratos products and industry-leading value-added
services to optimize communications performance. Stratos serves U.S. and
international government, military, first responder, NGO, oil and gas,
industrial, maritime, aeronautical, enterprise, and media users on seven
continents and across the world's oceans. For more information visit
www.stratosglobal.com.
For further information, please contact: John Warehand, PR Manager, Inmarsat, Tel: +44-20-7728-1579, Mob: +44-7739-778-128, Email: john_warehand at inmarsat.com
Tags: Inmarsat plc, London, United Kingdom