Inmarsat to demonstrate BGAN High Data Rate streaming service live on stand 2.B19 in Hall 2 at IBC 2013

Live demonstrations of game-changing satellite service for newsgatherers

19-9-2013 — /EuropaWire/ — Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, is providing the first live demonstrations of BGAN High Data Rate (BGAN HDR), its revolutionary service for broadcasters, at IBC 2013. The new service delivers a significantly enhanced streaming rate, providing a step-change in video quality for journalists reporting from remote regions or areas where the existing communications infrastructure is unreliable or damaged.

Building on the heritage of the BGAN platform, launched in 2005, and BGAN X-Stream, launched in 2009, BGAN HDR supports a portfolio of four new streaming rates, including asymmetric services to ensure broadcasters only pay for the throughput they need.

The BGAN HDR service will complete performance testing in September and is scheduled to ‘go live’ globally in November 2013. Its full channel option will provide broadcasters with an expected streaming rate of around 650kbps, while Cobham SATCOM’s EXPLORER 710, the first terminal to access the HDR service, has a built-in bonding capability, enabling connection speeds above 1Mbps – previously only possible on a VSAT uplink.

BGAN HDR can also be used as a dependable back-up solution to cellular bonding, offering a simple to use but powerful support service should cellular services fail or become busy.

The compact and lightweight EXPLORER 710 is no bigger than a laptop computer and can be carried as hand baggage, allowing a journalist to set off at a moment’s notice to cover a story virtually anywhere on the planet. The terminal is ‘plug and play’, so a journalist can establish a connection back to base within a few minutes of arriving.

“This is a very important innovation for newsgatherers across the world,” said Ronald Spithout, President of Inmarsat Enterprise. “Since the launch of BGAN in 2005, Inmarsat has played an important role in transforming the capabilities of journalists, enabling them to deliver their stories live from practically any location. BGAN HDR is set to deliver a new standard in live video satellite newsgathering and we anticipate strong take-up by both international and regional newsgathering organisations.”

Martin Turner, Inmarsat’s Media Business Director, said: “During my years as a broadcast journalist, I reported from some the remotest and most inhospitable parts of the planet. I understand the multiple pressures journalists in the field face today, not just to get the story but then to report it in multiple ways for different outlets. What BGAN HDR delivers is a giant leap in video quality backed up by the reliability and global coverage of Inmarsat’s award winning satellite network.”

Inmarsat will be demonstrating BGAN HDR live on stand 2.B19 in Hall 2 at IBC 2013.

For further information

Jonathan Sinnatt
Head of Corporate Communications
T: +44 (0)20 7728 1935
E: jonathan.sinnatt@inmarsat.com

About Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. 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. Inmarsat employs around 1,600 staff in more than 60 locations around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: ISAT.L).