Inmarsat BGAN terminals will play a crucial role in the launch of Angola' s new national identity (ID) card project which is using the latest cutting-edge technology. The five-year project will involve the provision of optical memory ID cards to eight million Angolan citizens initially, with possibly another four million at a later stage.

Mobile data collection vehicles equipped with Hughes 9201 BGAN terminals will be used to transmit registration data for the ID cards from remote rural areas back to data centers for processing. Inmarsat partner Ashbury SatCom, based in South Africa, is supplying the terminals for the complex operation.