Keeping in touch

Inmarsat is repositioning its satellite, but also itself to cater to wider niche industries such as maritime, aviation, oil and gas

Samer Halawi, Vice President, Strategic Corporate Development, Inmarsat

Founded in 1979, the world’s oldest satellite phone operator Inmarsat is planning to shut down its satellites. Albeit temporarily. Having recently announced withdrawal of broadband voice and data services for a three to five week period in November and December, Inmarsat will temporarily shut down two satellites for repositioning.

“We realise this is an inconvenience but we think a few weeks in 20 plus years is not a bad record,” said Piers Cunningham, Head of Maritime Business for Inmarsat.

Inmarsat has stated that about 150 of its new broadband terminals will have no service, but that most users would have a back-up of some kind in place. It will also make compensation agreements with its distribution partners while the service is unavailable.

Services affected will include Inmarsat’s latest FleetBroadband maritime product, as well as its land-based and aeronautical variants. Since FleetBroadband is a new product, the impact on the majority of shipping is limited, but users of the new service will be without any connectivity during the repositioning.

When moving a satellite, interference with other systems must be avoided by turning off the power to the communications payload. When the service is restored and the satellites are in position, Inmarsat says a more focused satellite footprint over the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia will allow for increased traffic.

“What you notice is that over the past few years, the speed of data offered is higher and the technology is improving and becoming available for more market sectors,” says Samer Halawi, Vice President, Strategic Corporate Development, Inmarsat. “There has been a wave of new product development.”

No longer are satellite phones used only for talking. With functions like live streaming video and GPS capabilities, more bandwidth is required to operate on the service provider’s behalf. Hence the introduction of additional, more powerful satellites, while relocating those already in orbit.

As satellite phone providers shift their focus from business travelers to niche industries such as maritime, aviation, oil and gas, Inmarsat remains keen on positioning themselves (and their satellites) to tap into these markets.

“The maritime industry is becoming more and more e-friendly,” says Halawi.

“For example fisheries, are doing more and more e-commerce. They sell their stock out while still at sea. Of course they need to download weather charts, courses to take and other safety aspects that technology provides,” says Hawali.

Halawi feels the Middle East region has played an integral role in Inmarsat’s success.

“If you look at the geographical nature of the Middle East, there are a lot of areas underserved by terrestrial communication, mainly because of the relatively low population density, and it’s not very efficient to deploy. Also, you have a lot of oil and gas industry as well as maritime professionals who use our services, so naturally the Middle East market has always been very important to us.” says Halawi.

“Over the last few years, when we offer new services, we start from this region and expand throughout the rest of the world.”