Southbury News

Satellite connectivity solutions provider COMSAT said it is extending the life of Inmarsat’s existing satellites through the leasing of an additional antenna at COMSAT’s Santa Paula, Calif. Teleport. The newly leased 12.8m antenna is transmitting and receiving in both C-band and L-band frequencies, bolstering capacity for the Tracking, Telemetry and Command (TT&C) and traffic operations of the Inmarsat satellite network. The Santa Paula teleport hosts Inmarsat’s Standard C equipment…

Following a June 16, 2017, decision by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that requires ship owners and managers to incorporate cyber risk management into safety management systems established by the ISM Code, COMSAT has announced its suite of cybersecurity solutions for the maritime industry. Recent events have underscored the need to protect fleets from harmful cyber-attacks. The new IMO requirement must be met prior to January 1, 2021. COMSAT provides enhanced security for data transmissions…

Maritime communications is an estimated $1 billion industry, encompassing ship operators, merchant fleets, governments and private yacht owners. There is arguably no more quickly evolving technical sector in the maritime market than the satellite communications niche. Safety, operational efficiency and quality of life onboard vessels of all type and size today more than ever depends on clear, reliable and cost effective satellite communication services and products. The following reports on recent advances from major service, product and system suppliers. The year started with news that Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of The Boeing Company, would roll-out its high speed satellite broadband capability for the maritime industry.

On January 6, 2002 at approximately 3:46 a.m., COMSAT Mobile Communications' Southbury, Conn. earth station received an Inmarsat-C "Man Overboard" distress call from Akademikis Zavarickis operating in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Equador. Responding to the call was COMSAT operator Joe Wheelahan, who contacted the ship on via an Inmarsat satellite voice call and connected them with the U.S. Coast Guard's Rescue Coordination Center in Norfolk, VA. Norfolk subsequently passed the information onto RCC Ecuador. A little more than three hours later, the man overboard was located and was returned safely to the vessel. COMSAT mid shift operator Wheelahan's quick response contacting Akademikis Zavarickis via voice communications and then connecting the ship with coast guard's RCC in Norfolk…

Telenor has completed the acquisition of COMSAT Mobile Communications operations . Simultaneously to the acquisition, Telenor gathers all its mobile satellite activities under the new business area name Telenor Satellite Services, and becomes one of the world's largest global mobile satellite operators. COMSAT Mobile now becomes the U.S. Inc. COMSAT Mobile, has annual revenues in excess of $100 million. transaction transfers CMC's operations, including all employees as well as the two earth station facilities in Southbury, Connecticut, and Santa Paula, California, to Telenor. Additionally, in September 2000 Telenor purchased a portion of LMT's Inmarsat shares to become the largest single owner of Inmarsat Ventures plc, holding the maximum permitted stake of 15 percent.

On Sunday, December 17, 2000 a raging storm was brewing off the coast of Virginia. Record-breaking waves were measuring anywhere from 30-40 ft. and the wind was gusting at about 70 knots. In the middle of the Atlantic, (220 miles off the coast of Norfolk, Va. to be exact), a 600 ft. (182.8 m), 21,000-ton cruise ship was in trouble, its crewmembers ready to abandon ship into the cold ocean. With only seconds to decide the fate of his vessel, the captain of the Sea Breeze I, placed a mayday call via the vessel's Inmarsat Standard-C distress feature, indicating that the now-defunct Premier Cruise Lines' vessel might sink. By Regina P. The dramatic rescue of SeaBreeze's 34 crewmembers began on that Sunday morning, when Eileen Joyce received an alert at COMSAT Mobile's Southbury, Conn.

Telenor of Norway and Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications (LMGT) announced that Telenor will acquire LMGT's COMSAT Mobile Communications operations for $116.5 million in cash. The acquisition, which positions Telenor as a major global satellite mobile operator, is subject to regulatory approvals. COMSAT Mobile, with annual revenues in excess of $100 million, provides global mobile communications solutions to the maritime, land mobile and aeronautical communities, and offers data, voice, fax, telex and video capabilities via the Inmarsat satellite constellation. Telenor's purchase of COMSAT Mobile operations also includes two earth station facilities in Southbury, Connecticut, and Santa Paula, California. Linking the two U.S.

Two employees of the COMSAT Mobile Communications (CMC) Land Earth Station in Southbury, Conn., were recognized recently by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for coordinating life-saving satellite communications for the Coast Guard, the maritime vessel Ocean Wolf and four rescue ships. The incident began around 6:30 p.m. EST on Monday, October 30, 2000, when the (USCG) Station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contacted Southbury requesting assistance in communicating with Ocean Wolf, which had suffered an explosion in the engine room and was taking on water. Unknown at the time was the extent of damage and danger to the vessel — it was adrift and Tropical Storm Joyce was bearing down on its location.

If you are concerned about the effects of Satellite Communication service provider consolidation, you will like the Telenor/Comsat hook-up. If you care nothing about corporate takeovers, rather are focused on ensuring the availability of a strong satellite communication signal, always, you will like the Telenor/Comsat hook-up. In short, if you use satellite communications services, you will probably like and benefit from the Telenor/Comsat hook-up. Hardly "news," the integration of Comsat into the Telenor family has been evolving for a year, the latest metamorphosis of Comsat, a pioneer in delivering satellite communications for the safety of ships at sea. Upon visiting recently with Guy White, Telenor's Southbury, Conn.