Newsroom
Stratos Completes Second Successful Flight Trial of New SwiftBroadband Aeronautical Data Service
BETHESDA, MD (May 7, 2007) - Stratos Global Corp. (TSX: SGB), the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, today announced it has completed a second series of successful SwiftBroadband ground and flight tests.
Earlier this year, Stratos was the first Land Earth Station Operator (LESO) to be appointed as a distributor of Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband aeronautical data service. In October 2006, Stratos was the first to conduct flight trials of the service.
SwiftBroadband from Stratos, expected to be network-ready in July and commercially available in the third quarter of this year, is designed to meet the broadband data communications needs of passengers, cabin crew and pilots in airliners, business jets and government aircraft.
Flying last week, the aircraft tested throughput and spot beam handover, successfully returning data speeds in excess of 400 kbps on background IP. The test program also successfully included multiple connections of 32k streaming services. In the aircraft cabin, multiple users connected to the SwiftBroadband service and reported an improved experience compared to using bonded Swift64 channels on the same terminal during the early phase of the flight.
Stratos is the world's largest distributor of Inmarsat mobile satellite systems. SwiftBroadband from Stratos will use the small, high-power spot beams of the new Inmarsat-4 satellites to supply bandwidth comparable to that of terrestrial broadband services to multiple users in each aircraft. Applications will include simultaneous voice and data services with data speeds approaching 432 kpbs.
SwiftBroadband offers the critical advantage of being able to work through existing satellite communications systems already installed on more than 4,000 aircraft, through upgrades of existing Inmarsat Swift64 and Inmarsat Aero H/H+ installations.
SwiftBroadband is the aeronautical equivalent of Inmarsat's successful Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service. Stratos customers, including some of the world's largest media companies, have already deployed the land-based BGAN service for remote satellite newsgathering.
Stratos is established as the world's leading distributor of Inmarsat's Swift64 aeronautical data service and Inmarsat Classic Aero services. This leadership position helped Stratos become an Early Entry Service Provider for the SwiftBroadband service last year, culminating with the first SwiftBroadband flight in October.
"By providing a suite of specialized, value-added services, Stratos has differentiated itself as the leading provider of both Swift64 and BGAN," said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. "As a SwiftBroadband distribution partner, we expect to continue our tradition of excellence by enabling both commercial and government customers to secure the most benefit from this important new aeronautical data service."
Bob Roe, president of Stratos Government Services Inc. (SGSI), said, "We expect SwiftBroadband from Stratos to be an important addition to our strong portfolio of communications solutions to U.S. government customers. Our value-added services will help these customers realize substantial financial savings and cost control, as well as an increased level of security."
Stratos is the only LESO reaching all Inmarsat satellites. Stratos owns and operates its own satellite communications infrastructure, which ensures direct access to Tier 1 networks. This infrastructure includes teleports and satellite hub stations in North America and Europe.
About SGSI
Stratos Government Services Inc. (SGSI) is a wholly owned Stratos company dedicated to serving U.S. government customers. SGSI is a single-source integrator of multiple commercial satellite technologies, providing airtime, hardware, installation, network engineering and management, customer support and value-added services globally for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and federal and state government agencies. For more information, please visit
www.stratosgsi.com.
About Stratos
Stratos is the world's trusted leader for vital communications. Stratos offers the most powerful and extensive portfolio of remote communications solutions including mobile and fixed satellite and microwave services. More than 20,000 customers use Stratos products and industry-leading value-added services to optimize communications performance. Stratos serves U.S. and international government, military, first responder, NGO, oil and gas, industrial, maritime, aeronautical, enterprise, and media users on seven continents and across the world's oceans. Stratos is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inmarsat plc. For more information, visit www.stratosglobal.com.
For additional information :
Carla Riggs
Director, Corporate Communications
+1 709 748 4857
carla.riggs@stratosglobal.com