Press Releases

South Orkney Expedition uses Inmarsat’s BGAN and Global Satellite Phone Service to educate and share mission findings in real time

Inmarsat Government, a leading provider of secure, global, mission-critical telecommunications to the U.S. Government, today announced that it has successfully provided mobile communications support to the South Orkney Expedition. This multidisciplinary expedition, supported by the research vessel RV Braveheart, took place on Signy Island from February 21 to March 6, 2020. The South Orkney Islands are located in the Southern Ocean, about 375 miles north-east of the Antarctic Peninsula.

This expedition was undertaken by the Perseverance DX Group, a nonprofit expedition organization that conducted record-setting, multi-mode high frequency (HF) communications using amateur radio frequencies, ranging from just above the Amplitude Modulated (AM) broadcast band to the edge of the very high frequency (VHF) band, under widely varying space weather (ionospheric and solar flux) conditions. The team also collected marine sediment samples for scientific research.

Additionally, middle and high school science teachers were provided information for use in their classrooms on a number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) topics. The expedition team also tested satellite communications and new amateur radio technologies in this remote region of the world.

During the expedition, Inmarsat Government provided its award-winning, Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) satellite communication services that enabled expedition members to partner with schools to supplement STEM classroom education of the Antarctic. Furthermore, the expedition relied on Inmarsat’s highly dependable Global Satellite Phone Service (GSPS) via the Inmarsat-4 constellation to stay connected in this remote region.

“These internet activities would not have been possible without Inmarsat’s services. We appreciate Inmarsat Government’s cooperation, technical assistance and the equipment that included BGAN and satellite phone services,” said Dr. David Lloyd, South Orkney Expedition leader. “Conducting expeditions to remote parts of the world to do research and support student STEM education requires having communications equipment that can reliably provide voice and broadband data communications under extreme conditions.”

“Inmarsat Government is proud to be the communications partner for the Perseverance DX Group in their quest to travel to remote places around the globe such as South Orkney Islands,” said Tom Costello, Chief Commercial Officer, Inmarsat Government. “It has been a privilege to support this expedition through our dependable ‘on-the-move’ communications and do our part in further enhancing scientific exploration and education.”

ENDS

For more information about the South Orkney Expedition please contact Dr. David Lloyd, PhD, the expedition leader at k3el@arrl.net.

For further information
Inmarsat Government
Alena Koci
Vice President, Marketing Communications
alena.koci@inmarsatgov.com

About Inmarsat Government

The U.S. government has relied on and trusted Inmarsat satellite services since 1979. Inmarsat Government continues to deliver the world’s most advanced global, mobile satellite communication services to U.S. defense, intelligence, homeland security, public safety and civilian agencies, with highly reliable, secure and affordable connectivity. Built with government users in mind, Inmarsat Government provides resilient, flexible capabilities to complement government satellite resources, anytime, anywhere. Leveraging an industry-leading scalable multiband network infrastructure, Inmarsat Government offers a suite of managed network services and end-to-end communication solutions to support users on land, at sea and in the air, even in the world’s most remote regions. Headquartered in Reston, VA, Inmarsat Government is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Inmarsat Group Holdings Limited.