Inmarsat, the world’s leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, will provide essential communications equipment to the 2007 U.A.E. Desert Challenge for the 6th consecutive year. Innovative satellite technology will power the remote press centre, while race officials will be able to manage logistics and driver safety from any location on the desert track.
Samer Halawi, Vice President, Inmarsat Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, said, “We are delighted to be supporting the U.A.E. Desert Challenge for the 6th year in a row with our leading-edge technology. Our participation reaffirms our commitment to this important region and the value that Inmarsat’s mobile satellite communications services bring to areas where terrestrial communications do not exist.” Halawi added, “This year we are not just powering the press center with our R-BGAN and BGAN services, we are also introducing our new IsatPhone for the first time in the race to support officials and monitoring stations outside areas of terrestrial coverage.”
Launched in the Middle East last month, the IsatPhone is the first handheld satellite phone in the Inmarsat portfolio. It is a dual-mode satellite/GSM phone that is targeted at business and personal users who travel or work in areas where local telephone networks are unreliable or non-existent.
As in the last 5 years, the press centre, located in an isolated desert area with no terrestrial communications, will be powered by Inmarsat’s R-BGAN¹ and BGAN² satellite terminals, allowing sports reporters to file their stories and pictures, call their headquarters, and upload their articles to the Internet. R-BGAN and BGAN will also be used by race officials during the event to manage logistics and keep track of drivers as they progress on the desert track, ensuring their safety at all times.
Last year, Inmarsat successfully powered the U.A.E. Desert Challenge press center with R-BGAN and BGAN terminals. It was the first time that BGAN was introduced to the race and used to support journalists throughout the event. The press centre was accessible from the early hours of the morning till late in the evenings allowing journalists to file their stories and photographs as soon as they were ready, using Inmarsat’s terminals.
