10 November 2011
One Horizon Group announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary SatCom Global, leading provider of mobile satellite communications, has been granted the required radio licence by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to offer Inmarsat BGAN and FleetBroadband services in Japan.
“This licence expands SatCom Global’s ability to address all requirements for satellite communications in the Japanese market for land-based and maritime customers,” said Sandy Johnson, COO, SatCom Global. “The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan have increased demand for BGAN services from government agencies coordinating relief and recovery efforts. Similarly, we also anticipate significant demand for FleetBroadband services, arising from the government’s policy to increase the number of Japanese-registered ships to enhance national security and its ability to respond to emergencies.”
This licence also enables SatCom Global to offer the Group’s Horizon solution in Japan, which further optimises the performance of BGAN and FleetBroadband services. Horizon is the world’s most bandwidth-efficient VoIP service. Based on the company’s Smartpacket™ technology, it offers VoIP from only 2kbps compared to around 8kbps from other VoIP services. This extends into a range of optimised data applications, including compressed email, accelerated web browsing and instant messaging.
Horizon enables considerable cost savings by using less bandwidth, which is a key consideration for maritime customers who need to improve operational efficiency and crew welfare by providing affordable phone, email and internet access.
Inmarsat BGAN offers global voice and broadband data connectivity (up to 492kbps) to land-based customers through a portable satellite terminal that can be connected to a laptop. It enables the user to make phone calls, send emails, access the internet, send texts and video conference from remote locations. Military, NGOs, aid agencies, media and first responders depend on BGAN for business-critical communications.
