[10-03-07 – Satellite Today]  Stratos Global Corp. is making Inmarsat’s Satellite Phone Services available commercially, the company announced Oct. 1.

The new services, available in mobile, fixed-land and fixed-maritime packages, will offer voice and data connectivity at speeds up 2.4 kilobits per second via small equipment.

The IsatPhone is a handheld mobile phone with a retail price of $499 and airtime charges of less than $1 per minute. Inmarsat expects to announce prepaid packages in November. The LandPhone is targeted at remote locations where local networks are unreliable or non-existent. The FleetPhone is a fixed maritime terminal that will be available before the end of the month.

The services initially are available in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and global coverage is expected to be available by the end of 2008 following the launch of Inmarsat’s F3 satellite.

"With the availability of Inmarsat Satellite Phone Services we expect to meet the communications requirements of thousands of new customers,”Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm said in a statement. “These users will find the new phone equipment is reliable and easy to use, and the airtime is affordable.”