BGAN from Stratos Provides Desert Connectivity for Second Stage of Ray Zahab's World Expedition Series

--Adventurers and Youth Ambassadors are running the northern Sahara to promote water conservation--

BETHESDA, MD, April 23 /PRNewswire/ - Stratos Global Corporation, the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, today announced it is providing world-renowned adventurer Ray Zahab's "Running Tunisia" expedition with Inmarsat BGAN mobile broadband satellite service.

Running Tunisia is the second stage of Zahab's World Expedition Series to raise awareness of the global scarcity of clean water. Zahab, along with four Youth Ambassadors and other adventurers, began their trek April 16th and will run through April 23rd - a total of 155 miles (250 km) - through the northern Sahara's searing heat and massive sand dunes in a quest to cross Tunisia.

Last month, Stratos provided BGAN service for the 10-day "Siberian Express for Water" expedition, where Zahab and a colleague ran the 400-mile (650 km) length of Siberia's frozen Lake Baikal. BGAN from Stratos performed admirably on that expedition and Zahab's crew is using the same Thrane & Thrane EXPLORER 700 BGAN terminal for the Sahara trek.

Stratos and its Channel Partner Satellite Communication Source (Ontario, Canada; www.satellitecomsource.com) have again joined forces to provide the BGAN system that is enabling the expedition leaders to broadcast content to their web site www.runningtunisia.com.

The expedition leaders are successfully using BGAN to maintain contact with their project team, post photos and blog entries, upload videos, and stream live video conferencing into classrooms across North America. The live video conferences provide a compelling learning experience to more than 8,000 students. During the expedition, students are able to see and speak with the expedition participants in real time - while learning about clean drinking water issues around the world.

Stratos Dashboard, the foundation of The Stratos Advantage value-added services, is being used to monitor and control BGAN airtime usage.

"Given the exceptional broadband connectivity we enjoyed last month in the harsh Siberian wilderness, we naturally decided to again rely upon BGAN from Stratos for our Siberian trek," Zahab said. "I am continually amazed at the system's durability and reliability, which is helping bring our message to millions worldwide.

Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm said, "It is gratifying to provide the valuable communications service that is helping ensure the safety of the young people and organizers participating in this informative expedition. The ability to stream live video from Tunisia into classrooms thousands of miles away is helping raise awareness of water-resource issues for the next generation of leaders."

Coverage of Running Tunisia will be featured on CNN, National Geographic and Outside.com.

About BGAN from Stratos

Stratos is one of the world's largest distributors of Inmarsat's BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) service, a mobile satellite offering that uses portable, lightweight terminals to provide video (guaranteed up to 384 kbps streaming), high-speed data (up to 492 kbps) and voice connectivity anywhere in the world. Users can effectively deploy BGAN services with minimal training. Since its introduction in late 2005, BGAN from Stratos has been widely adopted by media organizations, military agencies, first responders and professionals in many other industries worldwide. Stratos now boasts more than 12,500 BGAN activations in 185 countries.

About The Stratos Advantage

Stratos customers fully utilize The Stratos Advantage, a suite of value-added services that help elevate BGAN from Stratos far above baseline offerings. These value-added services, including Stratos Dashboard, provide users with cost control, instant provisioning, firewall management, full traffic information, pre-paid facilities, high security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and full IP range. More information on BGAN from Stratos is available at www.thepowerofbgan.com.

About Running Tunisia

Running Tunisia is the latest expedition for impossible2Possible, a non-profit organization founded by Zahab that uses adventure as a platform to educate, inspire and empower tomorrow's leaders. By running across the northern Sahara, Zahab and his crew hope to teach students about the history, chemistry, biology, culture, and the central role clean drinking water has played in all cultures and civilizations.

About Stratos

Stratos is the world's trusted leader for vital communications. Stratos offers the most powerful and extensive portfolio of remote communications solutions including mobile and fixed satellite and microwave services. More than 20,000 customers use Stratos products and industry-leading value-added services to optimize communications performance. Stratos serves U.S. and international government, military, first responder, NGO, oil and gas, industrial, maritime, aeronautical, enterprise, and media users on seven continents and across the world's oceans. For more information visit www.stratosglobal.com.

SOURCE Stratos Global Corporation