Stratos is First Inmarsat Distribution Partner to Reach 5,500 FleetBroadband Activations

- Stratos continues to develop innovative packages to meet the maritime market's increasing demands for data -

BETHESDA, MD, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ - Stratos Global, the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, today announced it has reached a milestone of 5,500 FleetBroadband activations. Stratos is the first Inmarsat Distribution Partner to reach this FleetBroadband sales milestone.

The announcement of this Stratos milestone coincides with Inmarsat reaching its sales plateau of 12,000 FleetBroadband activations worldwide.

Stratos' milestone of 5,500 FleetBroadband activations encompasses all major geographic regions and vessel types, from customers including Wallem Shipmanagement, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, Varun Shipping Co., MISC Berhad, Albacora Group, MPC Steamship and the Royal Netherlands Navy. A significant portion of Stratos' first 5,500 FleetBroadband activations were sold via Stratos Channel Partners.

As the world's leading FleetBroadband distributor, Stratos understands the need for reliable maritime communications and the increasing demand for higher volumes of data to support critical applications and business communications onboard, along with the increasing need to support crew with Internet-based services.

To meet its customers' demanding networking requirements, Stratos continues to develop innovative packages - including maritime hardware bundles and global fixed-fee broadband options up to 432kbps. Looking ahead with these developments, Stratos is perfectly positioned to expand its customers' communications capabilities to take advantage of Inmarsat's Global Xpress 50Mbps services which will be commercially available in 2014. Global Xpress, utilizing the Ka-band spectrum, will provide the maritime industry with the trusted high performance and reliability for which Inmarsat is renowned.

"Our dedicated sales and customer-service professionals, combined with our valued Channel Partners, have firmly established Stratos as the world's leading FleetBroadband distributor," said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. "Hundreds of leading maritime organizations have discovered how The Stratos Advantage value-added services help achieve optimal cost control, high security and easy deployment of their FleetBroadband service. We are working diligently to bring this important service to many other organizations worldwide. We also are committed to continuing our innovative development of packages that meet the increasingly challenging demands of our diverse global maritime customer base."

Parm added that Stratos also is reporting significantly high activations of another established component of its maritime communications portfolio, the Blue Ocean Wireless (BOW) GSM service. BOW GSM from Stratos, which can be deployed via FleetBroadband terminals, is a dedicated GSM service for crewmembers and officers of merchant ships. Stratos and its long-term trusted partner BOW developed BOW GSM as the first service - using Inmarsat satellites - that enables seafarers to utilize their existing mobile phones onboard merchant ships in deep ocean waters, exactly as they would in port or on land.

To further demonstrate its commitment to continually enhance FleetBroadband and all its other broadband IP-based maritime satellite services, Stratos recently introduced AmosConnect 8. Integration of AmosConnect 8 with Stratos maritime broadband solutions enables users to control their sessions and ensure optimal airtime use directly from AmosConnect.

About FleetBroadband from Stratos

FleetBroadband from Stratos provides cost-effective, high-speed data and voice communications - available simultaneously - at speeds up to 432kpbs. FleetBroadband from Stratos also provides on-demand guaranteed IP data rates, regardless of the vessel's location. The above-deck, stabilized, compact directional antennas are smaller than most existing Inmarsat Fleet products used today.

FleetBroadband also helps Stratos continue to provide ship managers with innovative crew-communications solutions, to support the recruitment and retention of well-trained seafarers. For example, FleetBroadband from Stratos now is available with a pre-paid, web-browsing solution and other valuable services.

Communications managers have discovered that FleetBroadband from Stratos can be rapidly deployed across an entire fleet and, as a standard IP service, seamlessly integrated with head-office networks. Terminals operate globally and the user interface is standard across all products. FleetBroadband from Stratos supports any IP service, as well as traditional circuit-switched voice and ISDN data for legacy applications. Terminal costs are relatively low and the network supports all the latest security protocols.

Stratos offers a wide range of value-added services to provide ship managers with optimal communications performance, management control and cost efficiency. Stratos is the largest supplier of mobile satellite services to the maritime industry, with communications to more than 40,000 maritime terminals worldwide. In addition to FleetBroadband, Stratos' industry-leading portfolio of maritime broadband satellite services includes Iridium OpenPort and the VSAT solutions OceanVSAT and StratosITek.

FleetBroadband from Stratos Features The Stratos Advantage

With the benefit of The Stratos Advantage, FleetBroadband from Stratos is elevated far above baseline FleetBroadband services. The value-added services comprising The Stratos Advantage, including Stratos Dashboard and AmosConnect 8 from Stratos, provide ship managers with remote IT management, support, messaging services, access and cost controls, high security options, crew welfare services, data optimization and a full range of IP options.

In addition to offering The Stratos Advantage, Stratos works with application partners to deliver broadband business solutions in key maritime business areas. These solutions include voyage management, remote management, IT management and cargo management, which help reduce fuel and operations costs and improve crew and customer satisfaction. Maritime customers can secure more information on FleetBroadband from Stratos by calling their Stratos account manager or by visiting www.thepowerofmobilebroadband.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