Hot on the heels of last month’s launch of the third Inmarsat 3 satellite, the KPN Group, the Dutch telecommunications giant, has launched a worldwide campaign to promote its Altus mobile satellite service. Altus uses Inmarsat mini-M service–delivered by the new satellites–to permit use of a laptop computer-size terminal for voice, data and fax capabilities virtually anywhere on Earth.

Station 12, KPN’s satellite communications unit, projects there will be 25 million mobile satellite users worldwide by 2000.

Hank van der Put, managing director of Station 12, said the company sees opportunity ahead because just 10 percent of the world’s land surface currently is accessible with conventional landline telephones. Conversely, the Inmarsat system reaches 98 percent of the world, he said.

Van der Put said Station 12 hopes to have a 20 percent market share within three years. He said several companies currently are manufacturing the $4,000 satellite units for use with Altus.

Markets Station 12 is targeting include boaters, miners and the news media.

The units are similar to portable Inmarsat phones sold by Station 12 rivals Comsat World Systems [CQ] and British Telecom.

Although van der Put said Station 12 enjoys a strong position in the satellite industry, he said the company does not aim to attain a dominant position in its markets.

Currently, approximately 100 customers are using Altus service through Station 12, said van der Put. Depending on the number of minutes used per month, customers pay as little as $2.40 per minute for transmissions.