Inmarsat and IDG Europe announce L-TAC agreement for Sweden
A significant boost for UHF and VHF capability across the Swedish government sector
6 February 2015 –Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, today announced that IDG Europe, an Inmarsat service provider that has been serving the Swedish government market since 1992, has been appointed an L-TAC Services distributor.
With a wealth of experience in both satellite communications and radio systems, IDG Europe is the perfect partner to help Inmarsat promote the use of the specialist L-TAC service in the European Economic Area. Goran Johnson, CEO IDG Europe, commented: “The fact that L-TAC works with both UHF and VHF radios and facilitates military-civil cooperation makes it a fundamental tool for many field operations, including homeland security. We are thrilled to have been appointed an L-TAC Service distributor for Sweden. Our in-house field experience means that our staff have already identified situations where L-TAC can have a crucial impact on operational success.”
Peter Dingley, Vice President Offer Development, Inmarsat Global Government is equally enthusiastic about the appointment: “L-TAC was an Inmarsat innovation built around the military requirement to achieve more capability with existing tools. Based on the TACSAT system, the L-TAC service uses the client’s existing radios and enables them to operate over the Inmarsat I-4 satellite network. IDG Europe is a perfect regional partner as they have technical expertise across both satellite and radio applications as well as strong local relationships with the Swedish government. We believe that the L-TAC service will fill a crucial gap in operational communications in the Swedish market.”
To access the L-TAC service, users require only an easy-to-install antenna adaptor for their existing tactical radios. With this simple addition, no additional training, certification or infrastructure is needed. The L-TAC antenna is also significantly smaller than most UHF SATCOM antennae, providing the added benefit of a lower profile terminal. This interoperable augmentation capability allows tactical users to meet their security and reliability requirements affordably and cost-effectively through L-band spectrum leases for durations as short as one month.
L-TAC will also support the civil government market for activities such as emergency response and homeland security. By enabling interoperability between UHF and VHF radios on the same network, government agencies and civilian personnel will be able to coordinate more effectively in the event of a major incident or civil emergency. This capability can create major savings for government by instantly lighting up nationwide mutual aid networks – covering large areas cost-effectively with existing equipment, while permitting extended reach for new public safety networks now in design.
About Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air. Inmarsat employs around 1,600 staff in more than 60 locations around the world, with a presence in the major ports and centres of commerce on every continent. Inmarsat is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:ISAT.L). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com.
The Inmarsat press release newsfeed and corporate updates are on @InmarsatGlobal.
About IDG Europe
IDG Europe is a Swedish owned company that was founded in 1992 in close cooperation with the Swedish government. Since then IDG Europe has not only been an important supplier of mobile satcom to Swedish military and civil government organizations, but also to a high degree contributed to the development of several of their communication systems. IDG Europe has a unique special competence in advanced communications solutions and is today the only Swedish company that can offer satcom for all types of applications; land, maritime and aviation. Our own long and thorough experience makes us able to adapt both solutions and support to our customers’ requirements. Please visit: idgeurope.com and idg.aero
