.
Inmarsat
takes
off
with
BGAN-powered
Bebop
drone
from
Parrot
at
CABSAT
10
March
2015
As
part
of
its
open
technology
strategy
announced
in
January,
Inmarsat
is
pleased
to
announce
that
the
Parrot
Bebop
Drone
has
been
certified
for
use
over
the
Inmarsat
network,
joining
the
CAP
(Certified
Application
Partners)
programme.
The
certification
is
announced
following
six-months
of
collaboration
with
Parrot,
a
leading
provider
of
advanced
technology
wireless
products
for
consumers
and
professionals.
The
lightweight
and
portable
Parrot
Bebop
Drone
is
the
first
commercially-available
drone
to
stream
live
media
over
BGAN
and
BGAN
HDR,
Inmarsat’s
global
3G
IP
streaming
services,
enabling
high-quality
aerial
footage
to
be
broadcast
from
anywhere
in
the
world.
At
less
than
400g,
this
is
the
lightest
drone
on
the
market
capable
of
such
high
resolution
footage,
allowing
safe
flights
and
easy
transportability.
The
Parrot
Bebop
Drone
is
portable,
affordable,
and
cost-effective.
Light,
easy-to-use
and
highly
responsive,
it
is
equipped
with
an
embedded
14
megapixel
fisheye’
camera
and
a
full-digital
image
stabilisation
technology
allowing
the
capture
of
remarkably
stable
and
clear
aerial
footage,
regardless
of
the
drone
movements.
Martin
Turner,
Director,
Media,
Enterprise,
Inmarsat
said:
“The
Parrot
Bebop
Drone
will
give
journalists
on
location
another
valuable
tool
to
enable
them
to
deliver
breaking
news
first.
When
paired
with
Inmarsat’s
BGAN
and
BGAN
HDR
services
live
broadcast
of
aerial
footage
can
provide
a
unique
perspective
on,
for
example,
reports
on
civil
disturbances
and
natural
disasters,
footage
which
can
prove
extremely
expensive
to
get
any
other
way.
The
drone
used
in
these
situations
avoids
potential
hazards
to
film
crews
attempting
to
capture
similar
footage
on
the
ground.
And
because
BGAN
works
across
Inmarsat’s
global
network,
journalists
can
deliver
breaking
news
whenever
and
wherever
it
happens,
even
if
cellular
and
terrestrial
networks
are
degraded
or
not
present.”
Inmarsat
and
Parrot
worked
together
over
a
six-month
period
of
rigorous
testing,
to
ensure
that
the
drone
worked
effectively
over
the
Inmarsat
network.
This
followed
a
collaborative
review
process
between
the
two
companies.
“The
potential
of
drone
technology
is
extremely
promising,”
said
Yannick
Levy,
Executive
VP
Corporate
Business
development,
Parrot.
“We
are
seeing
the
applications
of
drone
technologies
in
more
and
more
industries;
from
journalists
covering
news
and
remote
infrastructure
inspections,
to
environmental
applications
and
precision
farming.
We
are
delighted
to
be
working
with
Inmarsat,
and
with
the
Bebop
Drone’s
certification
under
the
CAP
programme.
In
places
with
poor
terrestrial
or
fixed
network
coverage,
we
see
Inmarsat’s
network
as a
crucial
part
of
making
live
streaming
possible.”
Nadeem
Khan,
Head
of
Enterprise
Applications
Enablement,
Inmarsat
said:
“The
Parrot
Bebop
Drone
gives
customers
the
ability
to
use
our
network
in
new
ways
to
make
them
more
efficient,
and
more
productive.
The
solution
works
with
Inmarsat
endorsed
codecs
that
customers
already
use
today,
meaning
that
businesses
that
already
broadcast
live
using
BGAN
can
easily
add
the
Bebop
Drone
to
their
toolkit;
creating
an
even
more
versatile
broadcasting
solution.”
