R-BGAN users need to contact their service providers for details regarding how to switch to BGAN, which offers much higher data rates than R-BGAN, with the added benefit of simultaneous voice connection. The introduction of the award-winning service in 2002 signalled Inmarsat's entry into the world of IP data connectivity and has been a major contributing factor to the successful launch of BGAN. As well as being the company's first internet protocol (IP) service, R-BGAN led to the introduction of the first Inmarsat-owned satellite access station (SAS) in Fucino, Italy. At its launch, R-BGAN was unprecedented, delivering an always-on, 144kbps packet data service across the whole of north and west Africa, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
Robert Bishop, commercial manager for Inmarsat land mobile services, said, "BGAN is a more advanced service. It operates on a similar-sized terminal to R-BGAN, and currently operates in more than 85 per cent of the world's land mass. And, from February 2009, users will be able to use it to communicate around the globe, following the introduction of the third and final Inmarsat-4 satellite," he pointed out. "R-BGAN only offered data, whereas BGAN enables simultaneous voice and data communications. Users will also find it easier to access the latest software applications for day-to-day data, such as email, and more advanced solutions."
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