INMARSAT (International Maritime Satellite Organization)
Now a private London based company, Inmarsat is the only organization that provides truly global satellite service.  The company's shareholders are mostly telecom operating authorities from previous member countries.  Inmarsat is the pioneer global provider of  mobile satellite communications for commercial and distress and safety applications, at sea, in the air and on land.  Inmarsat has been providing reliable worldwide communication service for over 20 years.

There is an Inmarsat satellite over each Ocean Region of the world.  These 'birds' are in Geo-stationary orbit, 23000 miles above the equator.  They incorporate high power spot-beam transponders to provide all digital communications for mobile satphones and terminals worldwide.   (pop-up INMARSAT Coverage Map)

IMS is an INMARSAT Partnership Company
specializing in system solutions for information management and communications.

IMS is member of the 0-1-5 Worldwide Partnership
providing Global Airtime Service Plans to suit your requirements.

Global Area Network (GAN):
Get connected to the latest breakthrough in Inmarsat's growing range of mobile e-communications.  The Global Area Network supports 64 kbit/s ISDN-compatible communications using portable units the size of a notebook computer and weighing around 4kg. (pop-up GAN Coverage Map)
 
NEW Generation of BROADBAND Satellites:
A US$700 million contract to build three satellites for Inmarsat's fourth generation broadband satellite network, Inmarsat I-4, has been awarded to the European spacecraft manufacturer, Astrium.  The fourth generation of satellites will support both circuit-switched and packet-mode connections, providing a natural evolution of the new Inmarsat Global Area Network-based Mobile ISDN and Mobile IP services.

The Inmarsat I-4 satellites are planned to be operational during 2004. They will be 100 times more powerful than and offer ten times the capacity of Inmarsat's current (3G) global mobile 64kbit/s network. The new Broadband Global Area Network will enable the delivery of Internet and intranet content and solutions, video-on-demand, video conferencing, fax, e-mail, voice and LAN access at speeds up to 432kbit/s virtually anywhere in the world.  This enables Inmarsat to fulfil the growing need of global corporate enterprises for on-line high-speed access to information and communications.

New Name:
Inmarsat Ventures Ltd has been registered as the new name for the holding company set up at the time of Inmarsat's privatization last year.

'Mini-M' (INMARSAT-phone) service:  The Mini-M is a compact, light-weight satphone with a long battery life (48 hour standby and 2.5 hour 'talk' time).  Service includes direct-dial phone, fax and 2400 baud data on an all digital communications channel. (See Personal Satellite Telephones ).
see pop-up How Satellite Telephones Work

'M4'  Service:   M4 type terminals are light-weight (9 pounds), all-digital voice + high-speed data phones.  Being highly mobile devices, M4s provide traditional high-quality voice and 64 Kbps High Speed Data transmission.  M4 satphones open up a new era of personal mobile office communication.

'B' Service:   For the past 3 years B service has provided a digital channel for a range of transmission opportunities, including high quality (16 Kbps) voice, Group-III fax at 9.6 Kbps, and data at 9.6 Kbps and 56/64 Kbps. This latter 56/64 Kbps is an all-digital Duplex High Speed Data (DHSD) link that opens a whole array of capabilities for Inmarsat users.

Other services include:  'Standard M' (the original personal mobile phone service);  'C' (marine messaging);  'D' (two way global messaging and multicasting); and various services for aircraft.

Since January 2000 , Inmarsat has broadened its total satellite service portfolio, entering the fixed satellite market by providing VSAT system integration solutions; offering maritime e-mail and automated data communications systems and an e-commerce maritime venture providing a web portal for on-board supplies and service procurement.