Global Inmarsat Fleet Service Launched

On April 1, Xantic became the world’s first company to offer the new maritime Inmarsat Fleet 77 service globally. It is also the first provider to have its service commercially approved for global operations by Inmarsat.

It is the service’s availability via the company’s Burum (Netherlands) and Perth (Australia) Land Earth Stations that allow Xantic to become the first LESO to offer a fully global Inmarsat Fleet service, spanning all four Inmarsat ocean regions. Approval for commercial operation was granted by Inmarsat at the end of March following a successful and extensive test program. Inmarsat Fleet allows several forms of rapid and effective communication, including global voice, the world’s first global standardizd satellite ISDN for high-speed calls, and 2-way GMDSS voice calls incorporating the latest IMO requirements – another world first. The Inmarsat Fleet service offers a range of added benefits, including the crucial addition of a Mobile Packet Data Service (MPDS) capability. This provides a permanent, high-capacity, always-online connection to all vessels in a fleet. Users only pay for the actual data sent and received. As well as being highly cost-effective, MPDS allows instant operational information from a fleet, immediate e-mail and file deliveries to vessels, a secure means of incorporating all at-sea vessels into a corporate network, and easy set-up and maintenance. Inmarsat Fleet services will be available through a range of new terminals, the first of which is Inmarsat Fleet 77. This service is the most comprehensive of the range, and with an antenna of approximately 77 centimetres, also the largest. The F55, featuring ISDN, MPDS and voice via spot beams, and the as-yet unspecified F33, will be released in due course. Xantic is also the first organization in the maritime satcom industry to unveil the pricing structure for its Inmarsat Fleet service. End user prices released indicate significant cost savings compared to the current Inmarsat B service. In addition, Xantic is offering discounts of between 10 percent and 25 percent on the different options for the first full year.