Inmarsat


Inmarsat is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with ground stations through thirteen geostationary telecommunications satellites. Inmarsat's network provides communications services to a range of governments, aid agencies, media outlets and businesses with a need to communicate in remote regions or where there is no reliable terrestrial network. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Connect Bidco, a consortium consisting of Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus, the CPP Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, in December 2019.

History

Origins

The present company originates from the International Maritime Satellite Organization, a non-profit intergovernmental organization established in 1979 at the behest of the International Maritime Organization —the United Nations' maritime body—and pursuant to the Convention on the International Maritime Satellite Organization, signed by 28 countries in 1976. The organisation was created to establish and operate a satellite communications network for the maritime community. In coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization in the 1980s, the convention governing INMARSAT was amended to include improvements to aeronautical communications, notably for public safety. The member states owned varying shares of the operational business. The main offices were originally located in the Euston Tower, Euston Road, London.

Privatisation

In the mid-1990s, many member states were unwilling to invest in improvements to INMARSAT's network, especially owing to the competitive nature of the satellite communications industry, while many recognized the need to maintain the organization's older systems and the need for an intergovernmental organization to oversee public safety aspects of satellite communication networks. In 1998, an agreement was reached to modify INMARSAT's mission as an intergovernmental organization and separate and privatize the organization's operational business, with public safety obligations attached to the sale.
In April 1999, INMARSAT was succeeded by the International Mobile Satellite Organization as an intergovernmental regulatory body for satellite communications, while INMARSAT's operational unit was separated and became the UK-based company Inmarsat Ltd. The IMSO and Inmarsat Ltd. signed an agreement imposing public safety obligations on the new company. Inmarsat was the first international satellite organization that was privatized.
In 2005, Apax Partners and Permira bought shares in the company. The company was also first listed on the London Stock Exchange in that year. In March 2008, it was disclosed that U.S. hedge fund Harbinger Capital owned 28% of the company. In 2009, Inmarsat completed the acquisition of satellite communications provider Stratos Global Corporation and acquired a 19-percent stake in SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc., a provider of Inmarsat D+/IsatM2M network services which in turn purchased the GlobalWave business from TransCore. Inmarsat won the 2010 MacRobert Award for its Broadband Global Area Network service.
Inmarsat at first provided services using Marisat and MARECS, which were launched by the US Navy and ESA respectively. In the early 1990s Inmarsat launched its first dedicated satellite constellation, Inmarsat-2. These satellites provided the Inmarsat-A service for maritime uses. Between 1996 and 1998 Inmarsat's second constellation, Inmarsat-3, was launched. Consisting of 5 geostationary L-band satellites the constellation provides the Inmarsat-B and Inmarsat-C services, primarily providing low bandwidth communications and safety services for global shipping. Following privatization in 1999 Inmarsat developed and launched the first satellite communications system offering global coverage, BGAN. This service was provided initially through the three Inmarsat-4 satellite launched between 2005 and 2008, and was then extended with the addition of Alphasat in 2013. In the 2010s Inmarsat began development of the High Throughput Satellite constellation Global Xpress, operating in the Ka band portion of the spectrum. Global Xpress, launched in 2015, offers global satellite capacity to various markets including shipping and aviation. Global Xpress also marks a significant expansion of Inmarsat's commercial operations in the aviation markets. In 2017 Inmarsat launched its first S-band satellite, intended to provide inflight internet access across Europe. In March 2018, Inmarsat partnered with Isotropic Systems to develop a state-of-the-art, all electronic scanning antenna intended to be used with the Global Xpress network.
On 20 September 2018, Inmarsat announced its strategic collaboration with Panasonic Avionics Corporation for an initial ten-year period, to provide in-flight broadband for commercial airlines. Inmarsat will be the exclusive provider of Panasonic for connectivity using the Ka-band satellite signal. Inmarsat will now be offering Panasonic's portfolio of services to its commercial aviation customers.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

In March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared with 239 passengers and crew en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. After turning away from its planned path and disappearing from radar coverage, the aircraft's satellite data unit remained in contact with Inmarsat's ground station in Perth via the IOR satellite. The aircraft used Inmarsat's Classic Aero satellite phone service. Analysis of these communications by Inmarsat and independently by other agencies determined that the aircraft flew into the southern Indian Ocean and was used to guide the search for the aircraft.

Takeover offer

In March 2019 the company's board agreed to recommend a takeover offer of $3.4 billion from Connect Bidco, a consortium consisting of Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus, the CPP Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. On 9 October 2019, Bloomberg reported that the UK government was set to approve the takeover with the final consultation for the deal set to conclude on 24 October. In November 2019, Inmarsat rejected an eleventh-hour effort to derail its $6bn sale to a private equity consortium in which it was accused of ignoring a potential boost to the company's value. Oaktree argued that the recommended offer for Inmarsat failed to take account of the potential value of spectrum assets used by Inmarsat’s US partner Ligado. Inmarsat delisted from London Stock Exchange, as the private equity funds took control of the company, on 5 December 2019; at the time, Inmarsat was operating 14 geostationary communications satellites.

Operations

The Inmarsat head office is at Old Street Roundabout in the London Borough of Islington. Aside from its commercial services, Inmarsat provides global maritime distress and safety services to ships and aircraft at no charge, as a public service.
Services include traditional voice calls, low-level data tracking systems, and high-speed Internet and other data services as well as distress and safety services. The BGAN network provides GPRS-type services at up to 800 kbit/s via an IP satellite modem the size of a notebook computer, while the Global Xpress network offers up to 50 Mbit/s via antennas as small as 60 cm. Other services provide mobile Integrated Services Digital Network services used by the media for live reporting on world events via videophone, and inflight Internet access via the European Aviation Network.
The price of a call via Inmarsat has now dropped to a level where they are comparable to, and in many cases lower than, international roaming costs, or hotel phone calls. Voice call charges are the same for any location in the world where the service is used. Tariffs for calls to Inmarsat country codes vary, depending on the country in which they are placed. Inmarsat primarily uses country code 870. Newer Inmarsat services use an IP technology that features an always-on capability where the users are only charged for the amount of data they send and receive, rather than the length of time they are connected. In addition to its own satellites, Inmarsat has a collaboration agreement with ACeS regarding handheld voice services.

Coverage

There are three types of coverage related to each Inmarsat I-4 satellite.
;Global beam coverage
;Regional spot beam coverage
;Narrow spot beam coverage
;Global Xpress
The Inmarsat I-5 satellites provide global coverage using four geostationary satellites. Each satellite supports 89 beams, giving a total coverage of approximately one-third of the Earth's surface per satellite. In addition, 6 steerable beams are available per satellite, which may be moved to provide higher capacity to selected locations.
On 26 November 2019, the first satellite to extend the original 4 satellite first generation Global Xpress constellation was launched from Guiana Space Centre by an Ariane 5 rocket.

Satellites

Country codes

The permanent telephone country code for calling Inmarsat destinations is:
The 870 number is an automatic locator; it is not necessary to know to which satellite the destination Inmarsat terminal is logged-in. SNAC is now usable by all Inmarsat services.
Country codes phased out on 31 December 2008 were
Inmarsat has developed a series of networks providing certain sets of services. They are grouped into two sets, existing and evolved services, and advanced services. Existing and evolved services are offered through land earth stations which are not owned nor operated by Inmarsat, but through companies which have a commercial agreement with Inmarsat. Advanced services are provided via distribution partners but the satellite gateways are owned and operated by Inmarsat directly.

High Throughput Services

The "BGAN Family" is a set of IP-based shared-carrier services, as follows:
The "BGAN M2M Family" is a set of IP-based services designed for long-term machine-to-machine management of fixed assets, as follows:
The company offers portable and fixed phone services as follows:
They are based on older technologies, as follows:

European Aviation Network

On 30 June 2008, the European Parliament and the Council adopted the European's Decision to establish a single selection and authorisation process to ensure a coordinated introduction of mobile satellite services in Europe. The selection process was launched in August 2008 and attracted four applications by prospective operators.
In May 2009, the European Commission selected two operators, Inmarsat Ventures and Solaris Mobile, giving these operators "the right to use the specific radio frequencies identified in the Commission's decision and the right to operate their respective mobile satellite systems". EU Member States now have to ensure that the two operators have the right to use the specific radio frequencies identified in the Commission's decision and the right to operate their respective mobile satellite systems for 18 years from the selection decision. The operators are compelled to start operations within 24 months from the selection decision.
Inmarsat's S-band satellite programme will deliver mobile multimedia broadcast, mobile two-way broadband telecommunications and next-generation MSS services across all member states of the European Union and as far east as Moscow and Ankara by means of a hybrid satellite/terrestrial network. It was built by Thales Alenia Space and launched in 2017. The complementary ground network consists of around 300 LTE base stations constructed by Deutsche Telekom.
The European Aviation Network faces a number of legal challenges. This includes a challenge from Viasat alleging unfair bidding practices and a misuse of spectrum and a ruling by the Belgian telecommunications regulator revoking permission for the use of the ground network in Belgium.

Global Xpress Expansion

Inmarsat ordered a fifth Global Xpress satellite from Thales Group. The satellite launched 26 November 2019 from Guiana Space Centre aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. The satellite has been described as a 'very high throughput satellite', and provides services to the Middle East, India and Europe. CEO Rupert Pearce has also indicated that Inmarsat is planning further expansion of the Global Xpress network in the future. Trials of new technologies have demonstrated bandwidths of 330 Mbit/s over the existing Global Xpress network, far in excess of the currently marketed 50 Mbit/s.
Polar Coverage
To provide GX coverage to the growing number of users in the Arctic region, Inmarsat plans to improve GlobalXpress connectivity to above 65° North.
Two high-capacity, multi-beam payloads GX-10A and GX-10B will be placed in Highly Elliptical Orbits to ensure reliable coverage. Inmarsat is working in partnership with Space Norway HEOSAT in the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission. The satellites carrying the Inmarsat payload plan to be manufactured by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. Launch for GX-10A and 10B are scheduled for 2022.

Inmarsat-6

At the end of 2015 Inmarsat ordered two sixth generation satellites from Airbus. These satellites will offer both Ka and L band payloads and will provide additional capacity to the existing BGAN and Global Xpress networks. In 2017 it was announced that the first of these satellites will be launched by MHI in 2020.

IRIS and ICE

Inmarsat is participating in two ESA ARTES programs, IRIS and ICE:
INMARSAT and Iridium frequency bands abut each other at 1626.5 MHz thus each satcom radio has the ability to interfere with the other. Usually, the far more powerful INMARSAT radio disrupts the Iridium radio up to 10–800 metres away.