1 February 2011

Stratos Global, announced the immediate availability of its new BGAN Humanitarian Pricing plans. The plans offer first responders flexible pricing options for Inmarsat BGAN satellite communications service.

"Most first-responder organizations have sufficient local-office budgets for the purchase of BGAN terminals. During emergency events, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, their satellite airtime is paid by central funds from the agency's headquarters," said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. "Our new Humanitarian Pricing plans provide greater flexibility that helps these organizations afford satellite airtime for important BGAN training and testing applications that occur outside of event periods."

Inmarsat BGAN Humanitarian Pricing is available in a variety of formats. Stratos plans are among the most attractive, as they offer a monthly paid option under an annual commitment. This enables humanitarian organizations to utilize their monthly operating-expense budgets for airtime fees, while using the BGAN airtime allowance at any time during the annual period. The Stratos plans are available for groups with as few as 10 BGAN units.

BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) uses highly portable, lightweight terminals to provide simultaneous, high-speed IP data (up to 492 kbps) and voice connectivity anywhere in the world.

In addition to thousands of media organizations, military agencies, energy companies and remote professionals, many first responders utilize BGAN from Stratos for communications in areas where terrestrial or cellular networks are damaged, congested or non-existent. Those first responders include the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. First responders deploying BGAN make full use of Stratos' value-added services known as The Stratos Advantage, which enable them to monitor airtime, restrict unauthorized usage, and manage costs.

Parm concluded, "By combining our flexible Humanitarian Pricing plans with the effective management of Stratos Dashboard to control BGAN costs, Stratos offers first responders the world's most economical BGAN solution available."

First-responder organizations can learn more about BGAN Humanitarian Pricing by contacting their Stratos account manager. These new pricing plans are available to first-responder organizations and humanitarian agencies on an individual basis and are subject to prior Inmarsat approval.