OTTAWA and ATLANTA, Sept. 24, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- EMS SATCOM, a division of EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG), announced at the 60th Annual NBAA Meeting and Convention today, that Inmarsat has approved its eNfusion(tm) HSD-400 High-speed Data terminal, making it the first commercially available product approved for use with Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband network.
"Inmarsat is very pleased that the first approved terminal for SwiftBroadband is available and has been delivered by EMS SATCOM," noted Michael Butler, Inmarsat's president and chief operating officer. "With the launch of SwiftBroadband and our announcement to launch the third I-4 satellite next year, Inmarsat is in a strong position to capitalize on the need for in-flight connectivity."
Originally introduced as a Swift64 terminal in November of 2004, and delivered in June of 2005, the HSD-400 terminal is software upgradeable to support the new SwiftBroadband services, offering background class and streaming class services, with circuit mode operation available for Inmarsat's commercial service introduction later this year. Background-class service is ideal for Internet and e-mail traffic as the user pays by the megabit. It is a cost-effective service that is always connected. The streaming-class service is best suited to videoconferencing and other real-time applications and provides guaranteed data rates at 32, 64 and 128 kbps. The SwiftBroadband network enables a number of new capabilities for in-flight communications. Not only a more cost-effective system, it is also more flexible, allowing for simultaneous multiple types of communications -- e-mail, Internet, voice and videoconference -- on a single channel.
"This product already has more than 400 hours of in-flight testing under its belt on two Fortune 100 company Boeing Business Jets, including North American, European and Trans-Atlantic flights. Since the start of this program and over the last few months of testing, we and our customer have observed the flexibility and reliability of the SwiftBroadband Service and we are confident the capabilities of our eNfusion system will serve passengers well into the future," said EMS SATCOM Vice President and General Manager, Gary Hebb. "This represents a tremendous leap forward in airborne high-speed data communications and well deserved success for our team."
About the Flight Tests
The HSD-400 terminal underwent rigorous in-flight analysis and evaluation to obtain approval for SwiftBroadband operation. Test requirements included assessing both the terminal's functionality and the performance of the SwiftBroadband network. Services were tested during take-off and landing, and through 40 degree bank turns (dynamic maneuvers). During the formal 7-hour and subsequent 4-hour flight test spotbeam handover was assessed as was low elevation angle performance, where look-angles to the satellite are at less than 10 degrees; important tests which the terminal successfully passed. A broad variety of applications were given meticulous testing including: VPN, E-mail (Internet and MS Office Outlook), FTP, Streaming Video, Instant Messenger, and Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) for downloading weather information. The HSD-400 terminal was tested with a CNX(r) Cabin Gateway Series networking device using both wireless and Ethernet connections. The test team observed average throughputs of 300 Kbps with performance reaching as high as 475 Kbps per channel.
About EMS Technologies, Inc.
EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG) is a wireless and satellite communication solutions leader, serving aeronautical, defense, maritime, commercial space and supply chain markets. Through its LXE, EMS SATCOM, and Defense & Space Systems divisions, EMS keeps people, systems and data connected, wherever they are -- on the ground, in the warehouse, in the air, or in space. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, employs approximately 1,000 people worldwide and operates major manufacturing facilities in Atlanta and Ottawa, Canada.
EMS SATCOM specializes in the design and development of satellite-based terminals and antennas for the aeronautical, ground-mobile, maritime and emergency management markets. A leading supplier of Swift64 high-speed data communications equipment, its eNfusion Broadband(tm) product line enables voice, e-mail, videoconferencing and Internet capabilities on a broad variety of aircraft under its own brand and those of the three major avionics manufactures. Its tracking and messaging systems business delivers crucial capabilities to force tracking systems, as well as to the transport industry and a variety of service vehicles. A pioneer in Search and Rescue solutions, EMS SATCOM also provides leading-edge software and hardware that has helped save tens-of-thousands of lives around the globe. Based in Ottawa, Canada, and a division of EMS Technologies, Inc., it employs approximately 300 people in development and sales offices in Ottawa, the U.K., the United States and Europe. Visit www.emssatcom.com for more information.
For more information, visit EMS on the World Wide Web at www.ems-t.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: EMS SATCOM is exhibiting at NBAA - Booth 5211.
Product images: www.emssatcom.com/nbaa07