Telenor Satellite Services Extends High Speed Services

Telenor Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Telenor of Norway announced that it now offers high-speed 128 kbps maritime satellite communications service globally. Telenor has added Pacific Ocean coverage to its existing Fleet F77 128 kbps service in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions. The service is terminated at the company's Pacific Ocean teleport in Santa Paula, California. The Fleet F77 128 kbps service operates over the Inmarsat satellite system and uses Fleet F77 hardware while virtually doubling the data speed normally available associated with the service. The Fleet service and hardware, commercially available since 2002, is currently used by many large vessels such as merchant ships, oil and energy transport ships, cruise liners and ferries, and super yachts. The enhanced global service uses a dedicated 128 kbps channel and arms ship owners and ship captains with a powerful communications solution designed to meet the varied communications and data requirements of the maritime industry. The extended service provides users at sea with a single, integrated satellite terminal that delivers mobile 128 kbps ISDN data and mobile packet data service, as well as high-quality telephony and fax services. The service also meets requirements of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) enabling pre-emption and prioritization of voice calls over low priority voice and data traffic.