Please be advised that commercial service on the new Inmarsat-4 (I-4) F3 satellite will begin at approximately 09:00 UTC, on 7 January 2009, providing broadband coverage of North and South America.

The I-4 Americas spacecraft is more directly positioned over the region than the current I-4 F2. This makes it easier to point a BGAN terminal at the satellite and, coupled with a higher concentration of spot beams over the landmass, will provide optimal data rates. 

Also, for the first time, network coverage will be extended to include parts of Western Canada and Alaska.

In the process, BGAN, FleetBroadband and SwiftBroadband traffic will be transferred from the I-4 F2 to the new I-4 F3 satellite. This will require a short outage, starting at 08:00 UTC, which is currently expected to last for approximately one hour.

At the end of the outage, BGAN users in the region will need to re-point their terminals from the satellite at 53 degrees West to the new I-4 F3 satellite at 98 degrees West. The latest version of BGAN LaunchPad, available for download from the Inmarsat website, provides coverage maps designed to help end-users re-point their antennas. 

Older BGAN terminals may also need an upgrade. End-users should contact their equipment supplier if unsure.

Users of Inmarsat's FleetBroadband and SwiftBroadband services in the region will automatically lock on to the new satellite, and need take no further action. However, some FleetBroadband terminals may require user intervention or software upgrades. Again, end-users should contact their equipment supplier if unsure.

Further information about the coverage provided by the new I-4 Americas satellite, including coverage maps and new versions of LaunchPad, can be found on the Inmarsat website under Support.

Website support: http://www.inmarsat.com/coverage