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business communications from any point on the globe. Satcom portable equipment is now available that weighs as little as five pounds. The Inmarsat satellites, two for the Atlantic Ocean Region , one for the Pacific Ocean Region and one for the Indian Ocean Region, provide for complete global coverage with the exception of the far polar regions above about 76 degrees north and below 76 degrees south latitude. The satellites are in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) over the equator, appearing to a person on Earth as standing still in space. Calls are set up and connected via the international switched telephony network using telephone/telex/data numbers established for this purpose. This is similar in call set up to that used when making any public international terrestrial call. Each satellite providing coverage for an ocean region has a number assigned, the same as would be for a country. For example, to make a call to a vessel in the Atlantic from a telephone in the US, one would dial 011 (int'l call) 871 (Atlantic East Satellite) and the nine digit Inmarsat telephone number assigned to the satcom. To call from the vessel to a shore number in the US (Quest Telecom Int’l for example) one would dial 001 (US country code) 207 (area code) 664 (exchange) 0122 #. The # symbol transmits the number string similar to the send key on a cellular phone. |
