Blue Ocean Wireless Partners with Stratos

Blue Ocean Wireless (BOW), an Irish company focused on delivering GSM communication capability for the merchant maritime sector, has reached an agreement to partner with Stratos Global Corporation (SGB), a provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, to provide Inmarsat satellite services to BOW’s merchant maritime customer base on a non-exclusive basis. The agreement follows successful trials of the BOW offering on board two container vessels conducted in late 2006 by Blue Ocean Wireless, Stratos and Inmarsat.

Blue Ocean Wireless will, together with Inmarsat, Stratos and a GSM network operator, provide a global GSM service for crew members of merchant ships. Under the partnership arrangement, Stratos will host Blue Ocean Wireless equipment at each of its Land Earth Stations (LES) around the world and provide terrestrial connectivity to GSM operators for BOW via its StratosNexus network. Stratos is the leading Inmarsat provider to the global shipping industry. Blue Ocean Wireless’ service will enable seafarers to use their existing mobile phones on board vessels in deep ocean water in exactly the same way that they would do in port or on land. The BOW service will also enable ship owners, insurers and government authorities, as well as suppliers and customers, to track and monitor individual containers on board merchant vessels as they traverse the globe using a combination of GPRS and RFID technology.