Satellite broadband for anywhere in the world

Inmarsat has launched a satellite broadband service to offer internet connectivity in the most unlikely places.

The satellite communications company has teamed up with defence company Thales UK to provide the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service - which will be fully launched by June 2007.

The service provides connection speeds of up to 492Kbps to most of the world - except for areas above latitudes of 80 degrees north and below 80 degrees south which the satellites cannot reach.

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An Inmarsat spokesman told silicon.com the service is likely to be used by people unable to get another type of broadband connection, whether that be in a rural area or in a wi-fi 'deadzone' in a city centre.

BGAN has been used in the US to co-ordinate relief efforts between the police and fire crews when networks have gone down, the spokesman added.

The service costs roughly $1 per minute for voice calls and $8 per megabyte of data.

Richard Deakin, managing director at Thales UK's aerospace business, said broadband internet access via a satellite network provides connectivity for people working in the most remote and challenging environments.

To link up to the BGAN network users need a 'satellite terminal' - which is about the size of an A4 pad and costs around $500 - that acts as an antenna to talk to the satellites.

The satellite terminal is fitted with a GPS receiver so it knows exactly where it is. Using GPS the terminal sends a message to the user's laptop and then BGAN software on the laptop tells the user where to point the satellite terminal to get the best signal.

Last year Inmarsat announced its first foray into the handheld portable satellite phone market after concluding a tie-up with terminal maker ACeS for a dual-mode GSM and satellite device.