Sandigan Selects Stratos for Fleetwide Deployment of FleetBroadband

Stratos Global, the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, today announced it has been selected by Sandigan Ship Services, Inc. to deploy the Inmarsat FleetBroadband satellite communications service on Sandigan's fleet of commercial vessels. Based in The Philippines, Sandigan manages a global fleet that includes bulk carriers and car carriers. FleetBroadband from Stratos already has been successfully deployed on 12 Sandigan vessels. Deployment on the remainder of the fleet is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The Sandigan contract is the latest example of Stratos' successful deployment of FleetBroadband on a wide range of vessel types across all major geographic regions. Stratos has activated more than 9,000 FleetBroadband terminals worldwide. By ensuring reliable broadband connectivity at sea, FleetBroadband from Stratos is helping Sandigan achieve optimal vessel performance, improved business operations and increased crew productivity. For Sandigan, Stratos fully integrated FleetBroadband with its sophisticated AmosConnect application, to improve management of all interoffice communications. Sandigan also improves crew welfare by deploying Stratos' AmosConnect Crew CommCenter. The solution enables personnel at sea to stay in contact with home via calling, private email and SMS at affordable, flat global rates. The solution's high functionality helps retain qualified seafarers. The application features an easily manageable, separate account for each crewmember. The integrated communications solution that Stratos is deploying for Sandigan includes an Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro satellite phone on each vessel, for backup voice communications. An IsatPhone Pro is installed at Sandigan's headquarters office as well. Sandigan also is deploying Stratos' GSM Oceanwide solution, which enables crewmembers to use their personal GSM phones to communicate with family and friends by voice and SMS. This deployment for Sandigan includes the full range of The Stratos Advantage value-added services for which Stratos has become well known. Those services - which are helping Sandigan attain the highest possible FleetBroadband performance, security and cost control - include the online Stratos Dashboard, which provides Sandigan with cost and traffic control, online invoicing, firewall management and many other benefits. "FleetBroadband from Stratos is meeting our high expectations by enabling us to achieve faster data transmission and better voice quality than the systems we previously used - at a lower cost," said Sandigan President, Capt. Tomoyoshi Yanagita. "The service has increased the performance of many of the IP-based applications on which we depend. This has enabled us to improve business management." Capt. Yanagita added, "Stratos provided a comprehensive approach to this deployment. Their Singapore support team analyzed our data traffic and provided a range of options. They patiently helped us reduce communications costs and improve the performance of critical applications such as BASSnet, our planned maintenance software. Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm said, "This FleetBroadband solution is carefully designed to help Sandigan meet its objective of deploying the latest integrated management systems to achieve the highest levels of customer service. We look forward to helping Sandigan use our expanding range of new applications to maintain high operating efficiency and a competitive advantage." For Sandigan, this FleetBroadband system provides an optimal data connection for numerous other onboard applications, including planned maintenance systems, purchase systems and remote management - which allows Sandigan headquarters personnel to manage the ship's computers without visiting the vessel. With FleetBroadband from Stratos, Sandigan now has the capability to achieve high-performance, direct remote access to the ship's computer terminals, the FleetBroadband terminal and the onboard firewall via popular remote-support applications. In the future, Sandigan has the option to use FleetBroadband from Stratos for engine-performance analysis and emissions monitoring, to help reduce fuel costs and comply with emissions regulations. About FleetBroadband from Stratos Stratos has activated more than 9,000 FleetBroadband systems across all major geographic regions and vessel types. FleetBroadband from Stratos provides cost-effective, high-speed data and voice communications - available simultaneously - at speeds up to 432kbps. FleetBroadband from Stratos also provides on-demand guaranteed IP data rates, regardless of the vessel's location. The above-deck, stabilized, compact directional antennas are smaller than most existing Inmarsat Fleet products used today. FleetBroadband also helps Stratos continue to provide ship managers with innovative crew-communications solutions, to support the recruitment and retention of well-trained seafarers. For example, FleetBroadband from Stratos now is available with a pre-paid web-browsing solution and other valuable services. Communications managers have discovered that FleetBroadband from Stratos can be rapidly deployed across an entire fleet and, as a standard IP service, seamlessly integrated with head-office networks. Terminals operate globally and the user interface is standard across all products. FleetBroadband from Stratos supports any IP service, as well as traditional circuit-switched voice and ISDN data for legacy applications. Terminal costs are relatively low and the network supports all the latest security protocols. Stratos offers a wide range of value-added services to provide ship managers with optimal communications performance, management control and cost efficiency. Stratos is the largest supplier of mobile satellite services to the maritime industry, with communications to more than 40,000 maritime terminals worldwide. In addition to FleetBroadband, Stratos' industry-leading portfolio of maritime broadband satellite services includes Iridium OpenPort, maritime VSAT services and Inmarsat XpressLink - which combines FleetBroadband with VSAT to provide a highly flexible migration path toward Inmarsat's Global Xpress services. FleetBroadband from Stratos Features The Stratos Advantage With the benefit of The Stratos Advantage, FleetBroadband from Stratos is elevated far above baseline FleetBroadband services. The value-added services comprising The Stratos Advantage, including Stratos Dashboard, provide users with cost and traffic control, high-usage metering, firewall management, data optimization, real-time traffic overviews, instant remote provisioning, high security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and a full range of IP options. In addition to offering The Stratos Advantage, Stratos works with application partners to deliver broadband business solutions in key maritime business areas. These solutions include voyage management, remote management, IT management and cargo management, which help reduce fuel and operations costs and improve crew and customer satisfaction. Maritime customers can secure more information on FleetBroadband from Stratos by calling their Stratos account manager or by visiting www.thepowerofmobilebroadband.com.