Cameroon's Equinoxe TV Uses BGAN from Stratos to Broadcast World Cup Coverage of National Soccer Team

-- BGAN X-Stream mobile satellite service streams broadcast-quality video from the field --

BETHESDA, MD, July 13 /PRNewswire/ - Stratos Global, the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, today announced that Cameroon's Equinoxe Télévision successfully deployed Inmarsat's BGAN X-Stream mobile satellite service to broadcast news and match results of the Cameroon national team from the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Equinoxe is one of only two private television stations in Cameroon, a country in western Africa with a population of more than 19 million.

The Cameroon national soccer team is Africa's most successful soccer team, having qualified for more World Cup tournaments than any other African nation. The team played in World Cup 2010 matches against Japan, Denmark and The Netherlands.

Equinoxe used a prepaid BGAN X-Stream solution from Stratos Channel Partner E-SAT (Levallois-Perret, France; www.e-sat.fr) for live broadcast and store-and-forward video clips to provide World Cup coverage to its home audience. Equinoxe aired 30-minute broadcasts every two days, while the national team was in contention from June 14-24.

Stratos prepaid airtime on BGAN offers a convenient solution for media and other organizations to control costs and plan monthly spending. Equinoxe also makes full use of Stratos' value-added services known as The Stratos Advantage, which enable customers to monitor airtime, restrict unauthorized usage, and manage costs. Most important, Equinoxe used Stratos Dashboard to carefully monitor end-user access and adhere to its prepaid traffic commitment.

"Our deployment of BGAN X-Stream for World Cup coverage exceeded our expectations," said Théophile Biamou, Chief Executive Officer of Equinoxe Radio and Chief Operating Officer of Equinoxe Télévision. "The Stratos prepaid BGAN solution does not require monthly fees, which makes it very affordable to deploy. We effectively used a free Mac-based encoding application. Also, our engineers found the system very easy to use."

Biamou added, "Before deciding to deploy BGAN X-Stream, we checked with our associates at Al Jazeera English and they highly recommended it. The system will help us achieve independence from other news networks."

BGAN from Stratos enables media organizations to perform at optimal levels at any remote location imaginable. Journalists can effectively use BGAN services with minimal training.

"After a long tradition of success, Cameroon soccer fans have become very passionate about their team. It is gratifying to help bring coverage of their team's World Cup matches to those fans in a manner that is both reliable and expedient," said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. "We also enjoyed learning how The Stratos Advantage services helped to ensure Equinoxe's efficient, affordable operation of the BGAN X-Stream service."

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. The premium BGAN X-Stream service allows a guaranteed minimum video streaming rate of 384 kbps, with streaming up to 450 kbps expected under optimal conditions.

Stratos recently finalized joint-marketing agreements enabling close cooperation between leading codec developers and Stratos technical-support teams. In the coming months, Stratos intends to pursue the integration of these solutions into StratosNexus and The Stratos Advantage.

Major Broadcasters Continue Successful BGAN Deployments

The BBC, Fox News, Al Jazeera English and other major global broadcasters have continued their successful use of BGAN and BGAN X-Stream from Stratos to cover breaking news and natural disasters from remote regions. These and other broadcasters use BGAN from Stratos for live broadcast and store-and-forward video clips from remote locations, or areas where communications infrastructure has been badly damaged. BGAN from Stratos also is used in situations where a VSAT truck is not available or cannot be physically deployed.

About BGAN from Stratos

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. Many customers deploying BGAN from Stratos also achieve guaranteed, end-to-end bandwidth for their time-critical data with a Stratos GuaranteedAccess solution custom designed by Stratos engineers. Stratos GuaranteedAccess extends guaranteed bandwidth from the BGAN terminal through to the terrestrial infrastructure to broadcast centers. Stratos GuaranteedAccess is enabled by StratosNexus, a Stratos-managed Global Core network for traditional and IP-based services. StratosNexus is a redundant and highly resilient network, designed and optimized to carry time-sensitive satellite traffic.

About The Stratos Advantage

Companies utilizing BGAN from Stratos make full use of value-added services known as The Stratos Advantage. These value-added services, including Stratos Dashboard, provide users with cost control, firewall management, full traffic information, pre-paid facilities, high security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and a full range of IP options. More information on BGAN from Stratos is available at www.thepowerofbgan.com.

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. Stratos is a wholly owned subsidiary of Inmarsat plc. For more information, visit www.stratosglobal.com.

SOURCE Stratos Global Corporation