Newsroom
Tesacom, Stratos and Addvalue Support Brazilian Elections with BGAN Mobile Satellite Service
--World's largest BGAN deployment ensured secure transmission of election results--
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (October 7, 2008) - Tesacom, Stratos Global Corp. and Addvalue Communications today announced they joined forces to successfully deploy a 1,200-site BGAN mobile satellite network to support the first round of Brazil's municipal elections on October 5th.
Stratos, based in Bethesda, Maryland, is the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions. Tesacom, a StratosELITE Partner, is South America's leading provider of remote telecommunications solutions. Addvalue, based in Singapore, is a leading designer and supplier of BGAN terminals.
Tesacom was selected by the Brazilian Electoral Superior Court (TSE) to deploy the BGAN network at voting precincts in rural communities nationwide. TSE's selection of Tesacom represents the world's largest single contract for the purchase of the BGAN service.
The BGAN systems quickly transmitted encrypted electoral results from local precincts to TSE's headquarters in Brasilia. The systems also supported voice and high-speed data connectivity for elections officials at the precincts.
Stratos is one of the world's largest distributors of Inmarsat's BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) service, a mobile satellite offering that uses portable, lightweight terminals to provide simultaneous, high-speed data (up to 492 kbps) and voice connectivity anywhere in the world. BGAN is ideally suited to enable communications in areas where terrestrial or cellular networks are damaged, congested, or non-existent.
Since its introduction in 2006, BGAN from Stratos has been widely adopted by military & NGO agencies, media organizations, first responders and professionals in many other industries worldwide. Stratos now boasts BGAN customers in 185 countries, which cover 95 percent of the BGAN footprint.
Tesacom CEO Jose Sanchez Elia said, "Being selected by TSE to provide such a technologically advanced communications solution reinforces our leadership position in the region. Our BGAN solution, which includes the dedicated support of Stratos and Addvalue, helped ensure that reliable results were rapidly transmitted from rural districts throughout Brazil."
As part of its integrated service offering, Tesacom is working to ensure that its BGAN customers fully utilize The Stratos Advantage, a suite of value-added services that help make BGAN usage more productive and affordable. These value-added services provide users with cost control, firewall management, full traffic information, pre-paid facilities, high security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and full IP range.
"For years, BGAN from Stratos has offered customized service delivery, performance and productivity to many demanding organizations worldwide," said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. "It is gratifying to demonstrate how BGAN and The Stratos Advantage can help support a high level of electoral efficiency and fairness for all of Brazil."
Many BGAN networks worldwide utilize the Wideye SABRE 1 terminal from Addvalue. The SABRE 1 is a robust, easy-to-use terminal offering flexible interface options. It features built-in Ethernet/LAN and RJ11 phone interfaces and can simultaneously support one voice call and one data session.
Addvalue affirmed its capabilities and showed its commitment to TSE customer satisfaction by providing Tesacom with a very high level of service and support within a short time frame.
"With the SABRE 1, we have developed a BGAN terminal that is capable of meeting the remote communications requirements of most organizations," said Addvalue Chairman & CEO Dr. Colin Chan. "Our experience working closely with Tesacom and Stratos on this important project has provided us with valuable insight in Latin America and will facilitate our growth in this rapidly growing market."
About Tesacom
Tesacom is South America's leading provider of remote telecommunications solutions, serving the government, maritime, oil & gas, agriculture, first responder, mining, transportation and military markets. From its offices in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, Tesacom offers a wide range of integrated communications solutions. Those include satellite voice and data, text messaging, email and file transfer, network integration, software services, professional, consulting and field-support services - as well as Spanish, Portuguese and English 7x24 customer and network support. For more information visit www.tesacom.net.
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.
About Addvalue
Addvalue Communications Pte Ltd is a subsidiary of Addvalue Technologies Ltd, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol addvaltech. Founded in Singapore in 1994, Addvalue is a leading provider of satellite communications, tracking and telemetry solutions and digital wireless design services. Addvalue is one of the three global suppliers of the BGAN land-mobile satellite terminal. For more information, please visit www.addvaluetech.com.
For additional information :
Carla Riggs
Director, Marketing Communications
+1 709 748 4857
carla.riggs@stratosglobal.com
Silvina Graziadio
Teascom - MSS Sub Director
+54-11-4114-2237
sgraziadio@tesacom.net
Apple Tan
Addvalue - Manager, Marketing Communications
+65-6342 5421
apple@addvalue.com.sg