Stratos Global Corporation has been selected by the Canadian Federal Government to provide a wide range of Inmarsat mobile satellite systems over a multi-year period. The contract, valued at $25 CAD million, was awarded to Stratos subsidiary Stratos Wireless Inc. by the Information Technology Services Branch (ITSB) of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). The agreement enables Stratos to provide products and services to all departments of the Canadian Federal Government, including the Department of National Defence, from 2009 through 2011, followed by two additional one-year options.

Among the systems Stratos is providing to the Canadian Federal Government is Inmarsat's BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network), a mobile satellite service that uses portable, lightweight terminals to provide simultaneous, high-speed data (up to 492 kbps) and voice connectivity anywhere in the world. BGAN is ideally suited to enable communications in areas where terrestrial or cellular networks are damaged, congested, or non-existent.

In June, Stratos became the first company licensed to offer BGAN to the Canadian market. Since its introduction in late 2005, BGAN from Stratos has been widely adopted by military and NGO agencies, media organizations, first responders and professionals in many other industries worldwide. Stratos now boasts BGAN customers in 185 countries, which cover 95 percent of the BGAN footprint. Those customers fully utilize The Stratos Advantage, a suite of value-added services that help make BGAN usage more productive and affordable.

With the benefit of The Stratos Advantage, BGAN from Stratos provides value-added services, including Stratos Dashboard for BGAN, provide users with cost control, firewall management, full traffic information, pre-paid facilities, high security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and full IP range.

"This new contract recognizes the high level of service that Stratos has provided to the Canadian Federal Government in the past and ensures that we can continue to serve all of its important agencies well into the future," said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. "The Canadian government and many other governments worldwide have learned that Stratos is ideally qualified to provide the most sophisticated mobile satellite systems, along with superior service, to support a wide range of mission-critical applications."