Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, has announced the launch of IsatPhone Link, a new global fixed satellite phone service.
Based on the award-winning IsatPhone Pro handheld satellite phone, IsatPhone Link will offer the same voice capabilities, and email and low-speed data services, in a fixed installation. The service will be available globally from 30th June 2011.
IsatPhone Link features a simple set-up that includes telephone, cabling up to 50 metres, and a small external antenna. It can support both single and multi-user capability, and is suitable for a wide range of environments.
Inmarsat is targeting the new service at its core market: sectors that typically operate in remote areas not served by terrestrial networks, such as oil & gas, mining, construction, utilities and aid & NGO. IsatPhone Link can be set up quickly, so is ideal for the early stages of remote field operation. It offers a reliable back-up to primary communications, or an affordable and easy-to-use communications service for workers onsite.
For remote communities, IsatPhone Link can be easily deployed as a pay-phone solution. Remote tourism can offer the service for guest welfare calling and security. For restaurants, retail stores and hotels the capability for handling low data speeds can provide a back-up solution for credit card valuation and other business operations.
“IsatPhone Link brings all the benefits of IsatPhone Pro into a fixed environment, and this opens up new opportunities for remote users and field workers,” said Drew Brandy, Director of Land Services at Inmarsat. “Many of these businesses will not have had access to a service like this before: the clear voice quality, the reliability of the Inmarsat-4 network, the straightforward user experience.
“With a global capability, we expect to see this deployed in a wide variety of industry sectors and environments.”
Inmarsat has again partnered with Beam Communications, designer and manufacturer of the IsatPhone Pro docking units. Beam is launching two IsatPhone Link products: Terra 400 and Terra 800. Terra 400 is dust and splash proof – ingress protection (IP) rating of 53 – and features a dedicated RJ11/POTS interface for corded or cordless handsets or integration into a PABX. Terra 800 builds upon that model, with an enhanced IP rating of 54, an integrated handset, built-in menu screen, and additional exterior SIM slot for multiple users. Both products provide data access via USB.
As with IsatPhone Pro, IsatPhone Link offers voicemail, and text and email messaging. Free texts and emails can be sent to an IsatPhone Link through the Inmarsat web site. Circuit-switched data provides low-speed data access, up to an effective 20kbps.
“We believe that IsatPhone Link will make a big difference to the lives of people in remote parts of the world, whether they are field workers or small communities. It’s a high-quality satellite voice service that people will be able to rely on for many years to come,” said Brandy.
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