Explorer 325: Smaller, lighter BGAN terminal for Vehicular Use Offers Low-Cost Option
The BGAN Explorer 325 is an entry-level portable satellite internet and voice terminal in the satellite communications-on-the-move market, one of the most rapidly-expanding markets in recent years due to the demand for constant access to communications regardless of location and situation.
The new Thrane & Thrane BGAN terminal has received Inmarsat Type Approval, and offers low cost of entry compared to other BGAN options in the on-the-move market. It’s designed to meet the needs of organizations and teams with limited budgets, while still offering a high level of performance in both data and voice.
For example, an Explorer 325 terminal is accompanying two Danish explorers on the first ever around the world electric car expedition, “Charge to Change”, which departed Copenhagen July 25, 2010 on its ten month journey. With the Explorer 325 the expedition will have global voice communication and broadband internet via satellite, enabling them to deliver photos and footage, maintain a blog, and communicate by voice and email with friends and family anywhere along the trip.
Traditional COTM markets include military, media and humanitarian organizations. Now more price-sensitive users that also need satellite communications on-the-move service, like transportation, utilities, rapid response and paramedic teams, can also enjoy a cost-effective solution to their mobile broadband connectivity needs.
The Explorer 325 BGAN terminal consists of three fully-integrated units: a transceiver, an IP handset and an auto-tracking and maintenance-free antenna with magnetic roof mounts. It’s really easy to install – just set the antenna on the roof of your vehicle and connect it to the transceiver for instant, global communications on-the-move.
The terminal offers a range of services:
* Standard IP up to 384kbps. This works well, for example, for long-haul trucks staying in contact with their suppliers who, in turn, can keep a watchful eye on their precious cargo. Also for rapid response teams who need to send photographs of disaster zones, to help with assessment of deteriorating situations.
* Streaming data at 32, 64 and 128kbps – suitable for paramedics sending continuous vital signs back to a medical centre while still on the move and for disaster recovery teams streaming video and interviews to the media.
* Voice services. Offering one cross-border roaming rate, international rail services can provide a single, reliable service independent of specific country networks. First responders also have access to independent, reliable communications while restoring an area hit by natural disaster.
It works down to a 5 degree elevation – whether stationary or moving at speed. Inmarsat’s efficient spot-beam handover allows it to operate seamlessly over long distances without losing voice or data connections. It’s also able to withstand some degree of outage thanks to Inmarsat’s clever blockage-recovery algorithm. And the Explorer 325 even tolerates going under bridges and behind buildings and trees without loss of connectivity.