Telenor Satellite Services last month became the first Land Earth Station Operator (LESO) in the Inmarsat system to make Inmarsat’s new Fleet service available to customers globally. Other LESO’s were quick to follow. Fleet won’t deliver quite the range of services available through C-Band and VSAT, but it does offer a wide range of commercial communications needs for voice, fax and data services at speeds of up to 64 kbps, including the rapid mobile Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and the new, resource-efficient Mobile Packet Data Service.
The service inaugurated last month, “Fleet F77,” is targeted primarily at ocean-going vessels such as tankers, containerships, fishing vessels, and large yachts, using equipment smaller than the current Inmarsat-B antenna. The 77 refers to the average diameter, in centimeters, of the required antenna.
Fleet's ISDN service provides broadcast quality audio and video, enabling video conferencing, e-commerce, high volume data transfer, distance learning, and remote performance monitoring.
The new service also offers the flexibility of Mobile Packet Data Service, providing maritime customers the benefit of paying only for data they transmit and receive instead of paying for the time they are connected to the satellite.
This feature is particularly valuable for global Internet applications including Web access, file transfer and e-mail. Fleet’s packet data technology enables users to share satellite resources. This increases efficiency and reduces costs.
Fleet meets the International Maritime Organization's criteria for global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS) by providing pre-emption and voice prioritization for five levels of priorities; distress,urgency, safety, and routine (personal and business) communications.
Fleet 77 hardware is currently available from two manufacturers, Denmark’s Thrane & Thrane and Norway’s NERA.
TECH SPECS
Terminal weight: The weight of the BDU (Below Deck Unit) is typically 4-5 kg. This includes the power supply unit and the main communications unit. Peripheral equipment such as handsets, distribution unit, distress box, fax machines, PCs, etc comes in addition to what is referred to as BDU.
Terminal dimensions: The BDU measurements are approximately 380 x 380 x 70 mm.
Antenna: The weight of the antenna unit is typically 40 kg. This includes the radome, the stabilized antenna dish with tracking electronics and RF (Radio Frequency) equipment.
Radome: Typically a semi-spherical 1.2 m diameter dome.
SIM Card: The SIM card identifies the user using the terminal. The card contains the numbers that are used to contact this user and defines the preferences, such as the network service provider, stored number list, etc. A PIN number, preventing unauthorized use, protects use of the SIM card.
Telephone handsets: The BDU permits a number of handsets to be connected, either two wire analog or ISDN. Handsets may be placed up to 100 m away from the BDU.
Power: The BDU input power is 110V or 220V ± 10% (90 V AC to 276 V AC). Power consumption is typically 200 W in idle mode, 300 W in transmit mode. This is for the BDU alone and excludes peripherals such as fax machines and PCs.
Operating conditions: The ambient operating temperature for the BDU is 0-45° C. To secure adequate cooling there should be a minimum 10 cm unobstructed clearance all the way around the BDU.
Connectors
• Two wire analog telephone ports (RJ45) • ISDN (RJ45)
• RS422 serial port • USB serial port • RS232 serial data port (accessed via an enhanced AT command set)
Configuration: The operational characteristics and port settings of the MES can be configured using a PC connected to the RS-232 or USB ports.
User interface: May either be through the liquid crystal display on the ISDN handset together with the keys on the handset or through menu screens on the PC.
Coverage: Global beam coverage with future I4 compatibility.
GMDSS: The terminal supports the latest IMO GMDSS requirements related to distress handling and pre-emption.
