The ribbon cutting ceremony at Inmarsat’s new Beijing office. Photo: Inmarsat

[Via Satellite 08-06-2014] Inmarsat has established its first office in Beijing, China as part of a larger expansion into the country. The company is the only international satellite communications operator with a Satellite Access Station (SAS) in China, making Inmarsat fully compliant with Chinese regulations.

The new office comes after Beijing Marine Communication and Navigation Co. (MCN), one of Inmarsat’s partners in the region, opened an SAS in Beijing. MCN will route Inmarsat’s traffic from across the country through this SAS.

Inmarsat, through partners such as MCN, provides communications services to Air China, China COSCO, China Shipping Container Lines, China National Petroleum Corporation, China Central Television, Xinhua News Agency and others. The Chinese government also uses Inmarsat for first responder communications and disaster relief.

China was one of Inmarsat’s 88 founding countries in 1979. In the past five years, Inmarsat has seen double-digit growth in this market.