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Fleet Broadband (a.k.a. BGAN Marine)

Alan Spicer Marine Telecom
Tel.  +1 954-683-3426
http://www.marinetelecom.net © 20XX
All Rights Reserved
(Some images courtesy of Inmarsat, and others...)

Alan Spicer Marine Telecom Business Card

Inmarsat

On this page you will find information about Fleet Broadband, sometimes branded or written as "Fleetbroadband" as one word. Fleet Broadband is the marine version of Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) that is coming out for ships and yachts. You will find specifications, sizes, and speeds of the equipment. Thrane & Thrane company are showing the gear with the Sailor branded Above Decks Unit (ADU) and the Thrane Below Decks Unit (BDU). FleetBroadband like Fleet 33, 55, and 77 before it are also available as a System from KVH Industries http://www.kvh.com/ with KVH's ADU included. KVH also uses the Thrane BDU equipment and KVH is a great way to purchase the system from an authorized KVH Dealer. The Fleet Broadband "FleetBroadband" system is going to be available in the month of November 2007 (see more information on this page) from KVH and others. The system takes Marine Satellite Internet Communications into the Broadband Realm with 432 Kbps speed (in the 500 system) and 284 Kbps (in the 250 system). 500 Kbps (Kilo Bits Per Second) is 1/2 of a Megabit Per Second. This is like DSL or T1 Speed. 400 Kbps is similar to the speed of todays Cellular 3G Broadband Cards. Some things to keep an eye on are: The Coverage Area, The Speed Capability, and the Cost and Billing Options. In Marine Satellite Systems you also might want to look for the Billing Option to Turn it Off and not have a constant $2500 per month bill every month like there is in Marine VSAT Systems. Both FleetBroadband and KVH's Mini-VSAT (elsewhere on my web site) give you the capability to choose billing per-megabit and to turn it off and not have recurring billing. So you can choose to sign up for per-megabit or flat monthly fees. See the details in the product billing information. If you need help arranging a satellite system installation give me a call. I'll help you arrange it and I can install Onboard Networking and other Internet and Voice Communications Systems as well.

11-23-2008 Note: In August 2008 the third Inmarsat 4 satellite was launced (see the blue area in the coverage map. This should round out the Worldwide Coverage of the FleetBroadband Service.
Analytical Graphics, Inc.
New Launch: 2008 August 18, 2243 UTC
Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
Launcher: Proton-M
International Designators(s): 2008-039A
 
SSC Name Owner
33278 INMARSAT 4-F3 IM

"Commercial flights of Russia's Proton rocket successfully resumed Monday night, putting into orbit a sophisticated mobile communications satellite that joins two other spacecraft to offer global broadband coverage.

"The Proton['s] six main engines ignited at liftoff to blast the 19-story rocket away from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2243 GMT (6:43 p.m. EDT)."

"The satellite's onboard engine system will complete the task of circularizing the orbit to an altitude of 22,300 miles [35,900 km] along the equator, and controllers will later guide the craft into an orbital slot at 98 degrees West longitude."

"The Inmarsat 4-series satellites transmit over 200 spot beams to deliver strong signals to the small receivers. Each craft has a giant unfurlable antenna reflector stretching 30 by 39 feet [9 by 12 m).

"The new craft are 60 times more powerful and have 20 times more capacity than their predecessors, the Inmarsat 3-series of satellites."

"Once the F3 spacecraft becomes operational later this year, the next-generation constellation will provide global coverage for users at sea, in the air and on land."

Source: Spaceflight Now, "Proton launcher returns to commercial service"

AGI's Launch Notification e-mails will help you stay current with all new spacecraft launches. E-mails are sent after every launch and include key spacecraft information such as: the date, time, launch site, launcher, international number, name, and owner. Get more information on thousands of satellites and other vehicles by viewing STK models, animations, and our encyclopedic "Spacecraft Digest" database at www.agi.com/resources.



The following information is also available here: Sailor_FleetBroadand_Product_Sheet
map

Key

map

The map depicts Inmarsat's expectations of coverage, but does not represent a guarantee of service. The availability of service at the edge of coverage fluctuates depending on various conditions.

FleetBroadband - More information from KVH

Filed under: AST Happenings — aspicer @ 13:10:39

KVH is planning to ship:

1. The FB500 (in our M7 dome), $19995, w/ 432 kbps IP, 4 kbps voice, 3.1 k audio for high quality voice and fax, and 32 kbps, 64 kbps, 128 kbps, 256 kbps streaming, and 64 kbps ISDN in late November.

2. The FB250 (in a dome smaller than the F33) w/ 284 kbps IP, 4 kbps voice, 3.1 k audio for high quality voice and fax, and 32 kbps, 64 kbps, 128 kbps in late December.

KVH, Inmarsat, and Thrane & Thrane plan on doing a FB (FleetBroadband) launch at the NMEA conference later this month. KVH will have live demonstrations at NMEA and the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show.

Inmarsat has a March launch scheduled for the Pacific Ocean Region satellite. If there are no problems there should be POR coverage for the FB in mid-summer.


New Marine Satellite Internet Systems - Make sure you look closely...

Filed under: AST Happenings — aspicer @ 23:45:46

Hello again,

I was just writing to a customer contact and wanted to share what I pointed out to them, with everyone.

When you are looking at Fleet Broadband and KVH's Mini-VSAT and such Marine Satellite Systems, make sure you look closely at some important capabilities and specifications that may affect your usage.

Mini-VSAT may have some faster speeds available than FleetBroadband, based upon the information that I have SO FAR.

Also you've got to watch out! for the coverage areas. Make sure you take a look at their coverage maps. Mini-VSAT is not as "worldwide" as BGAN/FleetBroadband. But also Inmarsat has one more satellite to launch to fully cover The World west of California USA. Inmarsat Version 4 - Satellite #3 has not been launched yet.

I have not made yet a specific FleetBroadband Web Page. I only have my http://www.marinetelecom.net/satellite.html Marine Satellite page, and the Blog entries today. Please see my BLOG, Satellite page, Trackphone-v7 pages all of them.

In summary - make sure that you check carefully the Speed Capabilities of the Satellite System and compare it with your needs and expectations. If you have any questions about what the speeds mean (or for that matter integrating Internet Systems into your whole yacht) please contact me. Also check carefully the coverage maps (they used to call these "satellite footprints" didn't they?) and make sure that the Satellite System will cover the areas that you will travel.

---
Alan Spicer Marine Telecom (a_spicer (at) bellsouth.net)
http://www.marinetelecom.net

THRANE & THRANE INTRODUCES FLEETBROADBAND AT YEARLY PARTNER CONFERENCE

Filed under: AST Happenings — aspicer @ 22:53:05

(ASMT Note: As many will know, but some will not, Thrane and Thrane electronics have been the bottom half of many Inmarsat Fleet Systems of the older/current Fleet 33/55/77 type. Thrane and Thrane have been the BDU - the below decks unit, and the handset and such. These are often re-branded KVH, but they're still Thrane and Thrane. So interestingly perhaps this is the First Look at the Below Decks Equipment gear of the coming-this-year FleetBroadband Systems.)

PDF Brochure Available Here and from the Thrane.com link below. It should be noted that Thrane.com is a manufacturer. They are going to refer you to a dealer (a distributor) when these are actually available. From looking at their web site the Distributor link is still under construction (there are no dealers on there to contact.)

Thrane & Thrane introduces FleetBroadband as the next generation Inmarsat satellite communication system. Thrane & Thrane is well ahead and plans to launch its new FleetBroadband terminals during the fourth quarter of 2007.

http://news.nauticexpo.com/press/thrane-thrane/thrane-thrane-introduces-fleetbroadband-at-yearly-partner-conference-21760-3748.html

http://www.thrane.com/Maritime/Products/Satellite%20Communication/SAILOR%20FleetBroadband.aspx

In close co-operation with Inmarsat, Thrane & Thrane introduces two FleetBroadband terminals called SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband and SAILOR 250 FleetBroadband. First and foremost, the new SAILOR terminals represent a quantum leap in terms of marine satellite transmission speeds. SAILOR 500 FleetBroadband has a data speed up to 432 kbps with ISDN capability, while SAILOR 250 FleetBroadband has a data speed of up to 284 kbps.

Jens Fabricius, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing Thrane & Thrane, says: "No other company is so familiar with the special needs for marine satellite communication. At the same time, our extensive know-how and hands-on experience from land-based satellite-based broadband solutions, such as BGAN, puts us in a unique situation. Bringing broadband satellite solutions to sea, we offer all marine customers a very exciting product, placing marine satellite communication and its usage to a whole new level."

FleetBroadband Available In November

Filed under: AST Happenings — aspicer @ 22:23:22

* I'm still seeing a lot of FleetBroadband coming in November, but no word yet on the actual marine gear that can use this. Stratos Global announces on their web site and in press releases, and the below information was on Satellitetoday.com. Stratos Global web site also seems to still say "at the end of this year". With this being October you would think vessel owners would be able to place orders by now. Is anybody out there in Sea Trials with FleetBroadband onboard? Let me know - Alan Spicer Marine Telecom...

FleetBroadband Available In November
September 24, 2007

http://www.satellitetoday.com/st/headlines/19126.html

[09-25-07 - Satellite Today] Stratos Global Corp. introduced its maritime broadband satellite communications solution based on Inmarsat's FleetBroadband, Stratos announced Sept. 19. The service is expected to be commercially available in November. FleetBroadband, based on Inmarsat's...

probably says: based on Immarsat's BGAN Service which is available already to land-based terminals. There's already information sheets available from (my web site and Inmarsat's Web Site) on the system.


Thank You for Visiting.
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