Inmarsat

Inmarsat plc
legal form	Public Limited Company
ISIN	GB00B09LSH68
founding	1979 ; privatized as a UN organization in 1999
Seat	London , UK
management	Andrew Sukawaty (Chairman) ; Rupert Pearce (CEO)
Number of employees	over 1600
sales	1.3 billion US dollars
Branch	Satellite communication
Website	www.inmarsat.com
	As of December 31, 2012

Inmarsat is a British company that operates a satellite cellular service that covers most of the earth's surface. It is on the London Stock Exchange listed company and a member of the FTSE 100 Index .

Company history

Inmarsat emerged from the international organization INMARSAT ( Internationale Seefunksatelliten-Organization , BGBl. 1979 II p. 1081, 1082 ). This was in 1979 by the Convention of Parties to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the United Nations as " In ternational Mar itime satellite founded ellite Organization" for the purpose, to provide what is necessary to improve the network for the shipping space segment available and thereby To contribute to improving the distress and safety radio links to protect human life at sea, the efficiency and use of ships, the public maritime radio services and radio location options (Article 3 (1) of the Convention). Areas that were not covered by short or medium wave radio in particular benefited from this . The organization's activities were restricted to peaceful purposes (para. 3).

Initially, Inmarsat rented satellites. It has been operating its own satellites since 1983, which it controls via more than 20 ground stations. In December 1994 the name "INMARSAT" was changed to "Inmarsat"; this was accompanied by a change of name for the organization to “International Mobile Satellite Organization”. In April 1999 Inmarsat was privatized as "Inmarsat plc" and placed under the supervision of the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO). The company has been listed on the stock exchange since June 2005.

offer

In addition to commercial services for satellite-supported telephony and data transmission (Internet connection, fax, telex services, etc.), Inmarsat also offers distress communication services (GMDSS) . The Inmarsat satellites are also used for air traffic control ( FANS ) in remote regions. Since 1996, some Inmarsat satellites have been equipped with transponders in order to improve satellite-based positioning ( GPS or Galileo ) ( EGNOS ).

Satellite fleet

Inmarsat uses a satellite fleet consisting of several geostationary satellites, i. In other words, the position of the satellites in the sky is always the same. With three geostationary satellites, network coverage can be achieved that covers almost the entire surface of the earth. Only the two polar regions are not supplied with Inmarsat services.

The following table lists all satellites that Inmarsat has ever operated, is still operating or is planned for operation:

satellite	Start date ( UTC )	Launcher	Launch site	Satellite bus	position	NSSDC ID	Remarks
Marisat series
Marisat 1	02/19/1976	Delta 2914	CC LC-17B	HS-356 ( Hughes Aircraft )	92.3 ° West	1976-017A	Inmarsat predecessor Marisat operated
Marisat 2	06/10/1976	Delta 2914	CC LC-17A	HS-356 ( Hughes Aircraft )	4.4 ° East	1976-053A	Inmarsat predecessor Marisat operated
Marisat 3	10/14/1976	Delta 2914	CC LC-17A	HS-356 ( Hughes Aircraft )	69.9 ° West	1976-101A	Inmarsat predecessor Marisat operated
MARECS series ( 1st generation )
MARECS-A	December 20, 1981	Ariane 1	CSG ELA-1	ECS ( British Aerospace )	90.5 ° west	1981-122A	Also MARECS 1
MARECS-B	09/09/1982	Ariane 1	CSG ELA-1	ECS ( British Aerospace )	-	1982-F06	Lost in case of false start
MARECS-B2	11/10/1984	Ariane 3	CSG ELA-1	ECS ( British Aerospace )	6.8 ° East	1984-114B	Also MARECS 2
Inmarsat-2 ( 2nd generation )
Inmarsat-2 F1	10/30/1990	Delta II 6925	CC LC-17B	Eurostar-1000 ( Matra Marconi )	178.8 ° West	1990-093A
Inmarsat-2 F2	03/08/1991	Delta II 6925	CC LC-17B	Eurostar-1000 ( Matra Marconi )	146.4 ° East	1991-018A
Inmarsat-2 F3	December 16, 1991	Ariane 44L H10	CSG ELA-2	Eurostar-1000 ( Matra Marconi )	138.8 ° West	1991-084B	Start together with Telecom 2A
Inmarsat-2 F4	04/15/1992	Ariane 44L H10 +	CSG ELA-2	Eurostar-1000 ( Matra Marconi )	98.8 ° West	1992-021B	Start together with Telecom 2B
Inmarsat-3 ( 3rd generation )
Inmarsat-3 F1	04/03/1996	Atlas IIA	CC LC-36A	AS-4000 ( Lockheed Martin )	64.4 ° East	1996-020A
Inmarsat-3 F2	09/06/1996	Proton-K / Blok-DM1	Ba 81/23	AS-4000 ( Lockheed Martin )	15.4 ° West	1996-053A
Inmarsat-3 F3	12/18/1996	Atlas IIA	CC LC-36B	AS-4000 ( Lockheed Martin )	178.2 ° East	1996-070A
Inmarsat-3 F4	06/03/1997	Ariane 44L H10-3	CSG ELA-2	AS-4000 ( Lockheed Martin )	42.5 ° East	1997-027A	Start together with Insat 2D
Inmarsat-3 F5	02/04/1998	Ariane 44LP H10-3	CSG ELA-2	AS-4000 ( Lockheed Martin )	53.9 ° West	1998-006B	Start together with Brasilsat B3
Inmarsat-4 ( 4th generation )
Inmarsat-4 F1	03/11/2005, 9:42 pm	Atlas V (531)	CC LC-41	Eurostar-3000GM ( Astrium )	143.5 ° East	2005-009A
Inmarsat-4 F2	08.11.2005, 14:07	Zenit-3SL	SL Odyssey	Eurostar-3000GM ( Astrium )	63.8 ° East	2005-044A
Inmarsat-4 F3	08/18/2008, 10:46 pm	Proton-M / Bris-M	Ba 200/39	Eurostar-3000GM ( Astrium )	97.9 ° West	2008-039A
Inmarsat-4A (Alphasat) ( 4.2th generation )
Inmarsat-4A F4	07/25/2013, 19:41	Ariane 5 ECA	CSG ELA-3	Alphabus ( Thales Alenia , EADS Astrium )	24.8 ° East	2013-038A	Operation in cooperation with ESA , also Alphasat , Alphasat I-XL , start together with Insat 3D
Inmarsat-5 ( 5th generation )
Inmarsat-5 F1	December 8th, 2013, 12:12 pm	Proton-M / Bris-M	Ba 200/39	BSS-702HP ( Boeing Satellite Systems )	62.6 ° East	2013-073A	Also GX 1
Inmarsat-5 F2	02/01/2015, 12:31	Proton-M / Bris-M	Ba 200/39	BSS-702HP ( Boeing Satellite Systems )	55 ° west	2015-005A	Also GX 2
Inmarsat-5 F3	08/28/2015, 11:44 am	Proton-M / Bris-M	Ba 200/39	BSS-702HP ( Boeing Satellite Systems )	179.6 ° East	2015-042A	Also GX 3
Inmarsat-5 F4	05/15/2017, 23:21	Falcon 9 v1.2	KSC LC-39A	BSS-702HP ( Boeing Satellite Systems )	56.5 ° East	2017-025A	Also GX 4
Inmarsat-5 F5	11/26/2019, 9:23 pm	Ariane 5 ECA	CSG ELA-3	Spacebus-4000B2 ( Thales Alenia Space )		2019-080B	Also GX 5
Inmarsat-6 ( 6th generation )
Inmarsat-6 F1	2021 (planned)	H-IIA-204	Ta YLP-1	Eurostar-3000EOR ( Astrium )	-	-	Not started yet
Inmarsat-6 F2	?	?	?	Eurostar-3000EOR ( Astrium )	-	-	Not started yet
Inmarsat-S (EuropaSat)
EuropaSat	Not started	Proton-M / Bris-M (pl.)	Ba 200/39 (planned)	Spacebus-4000C3 ( Thales Alenia Space )	-	-	Not started , converted to Inmarsat-S-EAN
Inmarsat-S-EAN	06/28/2017, 9:15 pm	Ariane 5 ECA	CSG ELA-3	Spacebus-4000C4 ( Thales Alenia Space )	38.9 ° East	2017-040A	Also Hellas-Sat 3 , EuropaSat

The Proton M rocket for Inmarsat-4 F3 on the launch pad

Inmarsat 4

The satellites of the Inmarsat 4 series were developed for the expansion of Inmarsat's satellite-based broadband network Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN), which enables its users worldwide to use high quality mobile voice and broadband data communication on land, on water and in the air. For this purpose, the satellites, with their 9 m antenna, can form 19 individually controllable and programmable transmission and reception areas that are large and 200 narrowly defined. They were manufactured by EADS Astrium on the basis of the Eurostar-3000GM satellite bus . The cuboid base has a size of 7.0 m × 2.9 m × 2.3 m and is equipped with two solar cell booms with a span of 45 m and an output of 14 kW. A combination of silicon and gallium arsenide is used as the solar cell material . The satellites have both chemical and ion thrusters for propulsion and attitude control . The design service life is 13 years.

Network coverage BGAN / IsatPhone on the plane, elevation angle 5 °
Network coverage in deep gorges and mountain valleys, elevation angle 21 °

services

Inmarsat system satellite phone

Over time, Inmarsat has developed various services:

Inmarsat A was the first Inmarsat service introduced in 1982. This only analog service provided voice connections, telex and fax as well as emergency traffic at 9.6 - 64 kbit / s. Inmarsat A was discontinued on December 31, 2007 at 23:59 UTC .
Inmarsat B has been providing the same services with digital data transmission since 1993 and was GMDSS compatible. This service was discontinued on December 30, 2016.
Inmarsat C is a packet-based service that z. B. e-mail traffic and telex can be handled or weather information can be received. Inmarsat C also offers some safety functions within the framework of the GMDSS, such as the reception of nautical warning messages.
Inmarsat D + offers similar services as Inmarsat-C, but with lower transmission rates.
Inmarsat E / E + was used to receive emergency signals sent by emergency beacons . Inmarsat E + was an extension of Inmarsat E, in which an acknowledgment of receipt was sent back to the emergency beacon. Inmarsat decided to discontinue the service on December 1, 2006 after consulting the IMSO. There were around 1300 Inmarsat E distress beacons around the world.
Inmarsat M offered the transmission of voice, fax and data at low transmission rates (2.4-4.8 kbit / s). This service was discontinued on December 30, 2014.
Inmarsat Mini M offered the same services, but was dependent on the more strongly bundled satellite signals ( spot beam as opposed to global beam ). The "Land Mini-M" service was discontinued on June 30, 2015 and the "Maritime Mini-M" service on December 30, 2016.
Inmarsat Fleet comprises several systems: Inmarsat Fleet 77, Inmarsat Fleet 55 and Inmarsat Fleet 33. These systems, named after the antenna diameter in centimeters, provide various services from slow voice transmission to packet-based ISDN service with 128 kbit / s, Fleet 77 also includes GMDSS . The Inmarsat Fleet 33 & 55 services were discontinued on March 31, 2018. Inmarsat Fleet 77 will be in operation until December 1, 2020.

IsatPhone-Pro satellite phone from Inmarsat

Inmarsat 4 offers broadband services for land, sea and airborne communication under different names. These three I-4 satellites provide global coverage, with the exception of the polar ice caps:

BGAN stands for Broadband Global Area Network and is a voice and data service with high transmission rates, which is intended for land areas without an appropriate infrastructure. The transmission speed is up to 492 k bit / s .
FleetBroadband will provide packet-oriented services with a data rate of 432 kbit / s and line-oriented services (ISDN) with 64 kbit / s at sea.
SwiftBroadband will provide packet-oriented services with a data rate of 432 kbit / s and circuit-oriented services (ISDN) with 64 kbit / s for aircraft.
IsatPhone Pro is a product that has also been implemented via Inmarsat 4 and is the result of cooperation with the ACeS satellite network , which offers voice and data services (2.4 kbit / s for voice telephony) with a compact handset.

Phone numbers

The ITU had assigned the international prefixes +870 to +874 to Inmarsat. Originally, the prefixes +871 to +874 were only the access codes for the four satellites:

+871 Atlantic Ocean (East)
+872 Pacific Ocean
+873 Indian Ocean
+874 Atlantic Ocean (West)

From 2005 to the end of 2008, Inmarsat worked on reaching all participants under the area code +870 ( English Single Network Access Code , SNAC) , which has been unique worldwide since the beginning of 2009 , and a 9-digit participant number. The ITU assigned Mobile Network Code (MNC) is 901-11.

Web links

Commons : Inmarsat - collection of images, videos and audio files

Inmarsat site (English)
Inmarsat: Overview of the radio services in 2012 ( Memento from May 9, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
Telescopic mirror: Inmarsat's primaries

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Board of Directors. Inmarsat, archived from the original on May 18, 2015 ; accessed on May 10, 2015 .
↑ ^a ^b Annual Report and Accounts 2012. (PDF) Inmarsat, March 28, 2013, accessed on September 4, 2013 (English, PDF; 9.95 MB).
↑ Changes to the IMSO Convention ( Memento of July 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English; PDF file; 2.8 MB)
↑ Our history. inmarsat.com, accessed September 4, 2013 (no longer available online).
↑ Positions according to N2YO ( GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES ) (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c Gunter Krebs: Inmarsat-6 F1, 2 (GX 6A, 6B). In: Gunter's Space Page. June 27, 2020, accessed on July 17, 2020 .
↑ BGAN. Inmarsat, 2012, accessed December 16, 2012 .
↑ Inmarsat: Technical data and footprints of Inmarsat 4 ( Memento from August 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
↑ Gunter's Space Page: Inmarsat 4 (English)
^ Inmarsat B. In: Inmarsat. Retrieved February 14, 2017 .
↑ ^a ^b Inmarsat Legacy Services Closure Dates. September 17, 2014, accessed October 12, 2015 .
^ Inmarsat Fleet 77. In: Ocens. Retrieved January 25, 2015 .
^ Inmarsat: Fleet 33, 55, 77 and MPDS Closure dates announcement. Inmarsat, February 7, 2018, accessed on February 7, 2018 .
↑ Handset specifications ( Memento from August 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro, accessed on August 30, 2010.
^ One world, one number. Inmarsat, archived from the original on July 13, 2011 ; Retrieved April 18, 2011 .
↑ Status of reserved or assigned ITU-T E.212 shared Mobile Country Codes (MCC) and associated Mobile Network Codes (MNC). ITU, March 5, 2010, accessed December 16, 2012 .

[BoD-1] Board of Directors. Inmarsat, archived from the original on May 18, 2015 ; accessed on May 10, 2015 .

[AR_2012-2] Annual Report and Accounts 2012. (PDF) Inmarsat, March 28, 2013, accessed on September 4, 2013 (English, PDF; 9.95 MB).

[3] Changes to the IMSO Convention ( Memento of July 14, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English; PDF file; 2.8 MB)

[4] Our history. inmarsat.com, accessed September 4, 2013 (no longer available online).

[5] Positions according to N2YO ( GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES ) (English).

[:1-6] Gunter Krebs: Inmarsat-6 F1, 2 (GX 6A, 6B). In: Gunter's Space Page. June 27, 2020, accessed on July 17, 2020 .

[7] BGAN. Inmarsat, 2012, accessed December 16, 2012 .

[8] Inmarsat: Technical data and footprints of Inmarsat 4 ( Memento from August 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)

[9] Gunter's Space Page: Inmarsat 4 (English)

[inmarsat1-10] Inmarsat B. In: Inmarsat. Retrieved February 14, 2017 .

[SCGlobal-11] Inmarsat Legacy Services Closure Dates. September 17, 2014, accessed October 12, 2015 .

[fleet77-12] Inmarsat Fleet 77. In: Ocens. Retrieved January 25, 2015 .

[13] Inmarsat: Fleet 33, 55, 77 and MPDS Closure dates announcement. Inmarsat, February 7, 2018, accessed on February 7, 2018 .

[14] Handset specifications ( Memento from August 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro, accessed on August 30, 2010.

[code-15] One world, one number. Inmarsat, archived from the original on July 13, 2011 ; Retrieved April 18, 2011 .

[16] Status of reserved or assigned ITU-T E.212 shared Mobile Country Codes (MCC) and associated Mobile Network Codes (MNC). ITU, March 5, 2010, accessed December 16, 2012 .