Inmarsat's Fleet: now it's an extended family. (Communications).

The latest generation of maritime satellite communications services, Inmarsat's, is already an extended family that now covers the needs of small and medium vessels as well as large, oceangoing tonnage.

Providing high-quality mobile voice and flexible data communications for the entire

maritime industry, the Fleet lineup comprises a number of different solutions to suit a wide range of requirements. As successor to the Inmarsat B service, Fleet 77 provides Inmarsat Mobile ISDN and Mobile Packet Data in addition to global voice and fax. Ideal for deep sea vessels, it is the only system designed to meet the latest international regulations for voice distress and safety within the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS).

Aimed at offering flexible data services to small- and medium-sized vessels, Fleet F55 and Fleet F33 provide voice, e-mail, secure Internet and intranet access, as well as a high quality fax service, so crews can operate a mobile office at sea.

Fleet F55's data services use the spot-beams on Inmarsat satellites, providing up to 64kbit/s Mobile ISDN or Mobile Packet Data in those areas of the world covered.

The data rates available through Fleet F33 mean that a new, wider range of applications is available to the smaller vessel market. Maritime-specific information, such as sea and weather charts, can be made available online and updated in real time. Users can enjoy the benefit of reliable and easy access to e-mail whenever and wherever it is needed.

Introduction of Fleet 55 has brought a major new player into the marine satcom hardware market: EMS Technologies, Inc.

EMS Technologies, Inc. is a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of space and terrestrial wireless solutions, focusing on the needs of broadband and mobile information users. Headquartered in Atlanta, it employs approximately 1,800 people worldwide, and has major manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Ottawa and Montreal. Its SATCOM Division, with offices in Ottawa and the U.K., has specialized in the design and development of satellite-based terminals and antennas for the aeronautical and land-mobile markets.

The Fleet 55 is the flagship product for EMS Technologies' newly formed Maritime Group, headed by Nils Helle.

"With industry-leading Inmarsat terminals in the Aeronautical and Land arenas, the venture into the maritime sector is a natural extension of EMS Technologies' core competencies," said Helle. "Now, vessels now can run a mobile office at sea, complete with telephone, e-mail, Internet and virtual private network (VPN) access, from a single terminal."

"EMS Technologies is a long-term partner of Inmarsat with a reputation for high quality hardware solutions to meet real customer needs and we are delighted to see them joining the maritime community," said Michael Butler, managing director of Inmarsat Ltd. "The launch of Fleet F55 provides much needed improved data capabilities to smaller vessels--many of which have never had access to the data they require."

Two distinct data services are available with the Fleet 55, Mobile ISDN, or Mobile Packet Data Service (MPDS). Fleet 55's data service utilizes the spot-beams on Inmarsat's satellites, providing up to 64kbits/s Mobile ISDN or Mobile Packet Data in the spot beam coverage. Inmarsat's global beam provides global coverage for Fleet 55 voice services. Fleet 55's 64 kbit/s Mobile ISDN offers clear, digital voice available in all four Inmarsat Ocean Regions, as well as group 4 fax and high-speed voice band data service.

Inmarsat's MPDS service, supported by Fleet 55, acts as an "always on" connection suitable for web browsing and email. The MPDS service is very cost effective for low data transfer due to billing by the Mbit, not by the time connected.

The EMS Fleet 55 terminal has a comprehensive selection of interfaces, including, ISDN, X.21, RS449, RS232, and two RJ11 ports, as well as an optional STUIIB/III service for reliable secure communications.

According to Nils Helle, Fleet 55 ship sets will cost around $15,000 apiece, or about $6,000 to $7,000 less than Fleet 77.

RELATED ARTICLE: FREE SOFTWARE FROM FRANCE TELECOM

France Telecom has now launched its SkyFile 3.0 transmission software. With this program for Inmarsat-A, -B, -M, M4, -ISDN, -Phone (miniM) and -Fleet users can send troublefree E-mails, faxes and SMS. Whether on the high seas or in remote regions on land, exchanging data through the Internet is possible anywhere. Here's an example. A shipping line transmits messages to its vessels. It uses a standard mailing program like MS Outlook, and sends them though the Internet to the SkyFile gateway in Aussaguell. France From this Land Earth Station the message can be received via satellite directly by the addressee at sea. Messages sent by ships reach their addressees by the reverse route.

Costs distinctly lower

The transmission technique optimized for the Inmarsat technology ensures high reliability and security. If a connection does break down, SkyFile restarts automatically at the point of interruption. Automatic virus protection prevents unwanted E-mails and viruses. A settable automatic restriction on the size of appended files and optional confirmation of receipt for E-mails sent from fixed-to-mobile are likewise included.

Since SkyFile is obtainable free-of-charge, investments costs are nil. There is no fixed monthly fee, and no extra traffic charge. Additionally the transmission costs are cut by automatic data compression by up to 60 %. The simultaneous sending and receipt of messages halves the transmission time again, and the cancel function for large and unwanted attached files saves more money, as does the non-transmission of HTML duplicates.

The program can be installed by the user, so that anyone with a basic knowledge of MS Windows can immediately start sending, receiving and organizing their messages, using the simple menu structure with Windows-based operation. The optimized transmission of faxes and worldwide SMS fixed-to-mobile and mobile-to-fixed for almost all GSM networks are included.

As well as English, French and German, SkyFile 3.0 is available in many other languages, including Chinese. The software can be downloaded free from the Internet orcan equally easily be installed from a diskette or CD-Rom. An extended version with additional functions is currently under development.

TELENOR UPGRADES LAND EARTH STATIONS

Telenor Satellite Services has enhanced the capabilities of its three Inmarsat Land earth stations (LESs) at Eik, Norway, Santa Paula,Calif and Southbury, Conn.

"Upgrades to the earth stations include:

* New high-speed data communications equipment to accommodate the increased demand for mobile high-speed data services. This allows Telenor to continue providing Internet access, video conferencing and Large file transfers to maritime and aeronautical companies using Inmarsat's Fleet and Swift64 services.

* New Lucent telecommunications equipment to make broadband networking easier for customers with SS7, a widely-used telephone switching protocol.

* New 16-m satellite antenna in Norway, which will operate on Inmarsat's existing and future fourth generation satellites.

* Enhancements to the power, signal tracking and amplifying, environmental controls and security systems in the Southbury LES, making it one of the most up-to-date and multi-functional earth stations in the satellite industry.