MIAMI - (Business Wire) Inmarsat plc (LSE: ISAT), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, today announced the launch of its new FleetBroadband 150 service. Developed for the leisure, fishing, coastal merchant and small defense vessel markets, FleetBroadband 150 (FB150) is the world’s smallest, lightest, fastest global maritime service. For the leisure market, FB150 offers a simple and cost-effective way to stay connected by phone, SMS or email when sailing. It offers a voice connection at landline quality, accessible simultaneously with Internet-capable IP data at 150kbps and simple-to-use SMS. Above-deck equipment measures around 20cm in diameter and weighs only 4.5-9lbs, ensuring a quick and easy installation. FB150 connects to a standard PC and supports off-the-shelf applications.
“The emphasis is on compactness, outstanding performance and simplicity,” said Piers Cunningham, Maritime Business Director, Inmarsat. “Our long-term development plan for FleetBroadband was to take all the benefits of our proven network and construct a low-cost package targeting small maritime vessels and boats. For the first time, FB150 brings large vessel connectivity to smaller boats”.
Inmarsat has optimized the new entry-level service to address the needs of smaller vessels with lower data requirements. FB150 provides owners and operators of leisure craft with the assurance of a reliable connection, no matter what their position. As an IP-based service, FB150 works with the same standard home/office software that most leisure users will know. “FB150 opens up a new world for leisure vessel owners,” said Cunningham. “When at sea, users can now access the same email, Internet browsing or online services that they’re familiar with. For the weekend mariner, being far from shore no longer means being isolated”.
For smaller fishing vessels, operating in a competitive market, FB150 enable access to the same online weather updates and fishing resources as their larger competition. “FleetBroadband has already demonstrated its value in the fisheries sector, and with FB150 we can now bring these same benefits to smaller fishing boats,” said Cunningham. “We have designed FB150 to pack the most functionality into the smallest possible above-deck unit, and at a cost that addresses the price sensitivity of the fishing market”.
“We promised to deliver a sub-$5000 terminal for small vessels, and we have delivered on time and on specification. FB150 is everything we promised,” he said.
“FB150 will become the Mini-M of the 21st Century, but more powerful and available globally,” said Cunningham. “We introduced Mini-M in the mid-1990s to deliver very high quality voice to a range of vessels, from large merchant ships to fishing vessels and weekend leisure craft. It has been used by hundreds of thousands of seafarers, and is still actively used on many thousands of vessels. Mini-M was small on equipment size and cost, two major factors in its success, and we see FB150 as a natural successor that builds on that with a powerful global service”.
FB150 hardware is manufactured by AddValue and Thrane & Thrane. The service will be available through Inmarsat’s network of distribution partners and service providers.
FleetBroadband has established a new standard for maritime communications. It is Inmarsat’s fastest-growing maritime service in its 30-year history, and the company recently announced the 2,000th activated terminal. Two FleetBroadband services – FB500, currently delivering high-definition TV connectivity and other essential communications for crews in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-9, and its sister service, FB250 – were launched in November 2007.
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 more than 500 distribution partners and service providers operating in 180 countries. For the year ended 31st December 2008, Inmarsat plc had total revenue of US$996.7 million (2007: US$576.5 million) with an EBITDA of US$531.2 million (2007: US$388.1 million). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com.
Inmarsat
John Warehand, +44 20 7728 1579 / +44 7739 778 128
john_warehand@inmarsat.com
or
GK Communications for Inmarsat
Greg Kalish, 516-665-3292
gkalish@gkcomms.com
