A new joint venture co-funded by mobile satellite communications provider Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT) and digital communications equipment provider ViaSat Inc. (Nasdaq:VSAT) is offering mobile satellite communications services for the defense sector. The two companies will develop a new mobile satellite communications terminal, providing secure, highly mobile voice and high-speed data communications destined for use by the armed forces.
The new service is targeted specifically at the U.S. and NATO markets. The terminal will combine Inmarsat’s IP-based Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) technology with ViaSat AltaSec IP inline encryption equipment while utilizing the commercially available Inmarsat network, to create a portable, ruggedized BGAN user terminal capable of uplinking IP data fully compliant with HAIPE version 1.3.5 Type 1 security standards.
BGAN mobile satellite communications service delivers simultaneous voice and broadband IP data to users anywhere on the globe utilizing highly portable devices. It supports mobile broadband data at speeds up to half-a-megabit per second, as well as guaranteed IP data rates up to 256 kbps. Engineers from both companies have already successfully demonstrated the compatibility of using the BGAN service with ViaSat KG-250 Type-1 High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor Interoperability Standard (HAIPE IS) compliant encryption products over the new constellation of Inmarsat advanced broadband satellites, the Inmarsat-4s.
