FLEETBROADBAND FAMILY POWERS FASTNET COMPETITORS

5th August 2009 – Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband family will be on the start line for this year’s Rolex-sponsored Fastnet race, which starts on Sunday 9th August from Cowes, Isle of Wight.   The race marks 30 years since the tragic loss of 15 lives in the 1979 Fastnet.

The company’s maritime broadband services – FB500, FB250 and new arrival FB150 –will all be deployed in the 608 nautical mile race for the first time. The technology was recently proven on the 37,000 mile round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, for which the leading mobile satellite services operator was selected as technology partner.

The latest yacht to adopt Inmarsat FB250 is Fastnet race favourite, Niklas Zennström’s 72-foot Judel/Vrolijk designed, RÁN.  Other FB250 aficionados include Varuna (Rogers IRC 46), Beau Geste (Blue Water 80) and Noonmark VI.

The impressive 100-foot Liara is using the flagship FB500 service, as is media-friendly Alex Thomson, helming the Open 60 HUGO BOSS, who will be running live video and audio feeds from the boat during the race. It’s fitted with an M-Link Integrated Media Station (MIMS)  which incorporates “crash record” technology to  allow Alex to stream video from whichever onboard camera is selected to his website via the FB500.

Inmarsat, whose anniversary in July celebrated 30 years of ensuring maritime safety, is currently enjoying unprecedented success with its new FleetBroadband service.

Onboard RÁN, British navigator Steve Hayles will doubtless exploit the value of the innovative satellite communications with some smart weather routing, as well as maximizing the broadcasting value of broadband with media interviews and dramatic footage of the awe inspiring Rock rounding.

Launched on 1st July, the new FB150 service squeezes the advanced technology of FB500 into a compact and cost-effective package that is ideal for smaller vessels.  The first sailing boat in the world to run FB150 is John Shepherd’s Ker 46 Fair Do’s VII, helmed by Johnny Greenland.  Crewed by young enthusiasts  the boat will use FB150 to provide the crew with 24/7 always-on global connectivity.   FB150 is a quantum leap for race yachts offering a lightweight, rugged multi-media communications package for less than the price of a single race sail ($5000).

The RORC has welcomed the initiative of the crew of ‘Fair Do’s VII’ in fitting this new system. Says RORC Chief Executive, Eddie Warden Owen: “Reliable communication is something RORC takes very seriously and FleetBroadband brings 24 hour connectivity down to realistic prices. We want the general public to engage with the race and getting video and pictures from the boat and out to the media will really help to show people just how tough and challenging the Rolex Fastnet Race is.”

The Fastnet race started in 1925 and is a ‘classic’ amongst offshore races. This year the race starts on Sunday 9th August from Cowes on the south coast, sails around the Fastnet Rock off the coast of Ireland and finishes in Plymouth after covering about 608 miles.  Until 1979 the race had an excellent safety record, only one crewman being lost overboard in 1931. On 11th August 1979, however, a record 303 entries got underway in fine weather, but only 85 yachts finished the race and 15 people were killed.

The Fastnet fleet is a broad cross-section of the international offshore racing scene, with the smallest yacht (Fore Winds from Poland) at 30 feet (9.5m) up to the largest at 100 feet (30.5m). Crews range from the well-paid professionals through to the Corinthian racers, to those just taking part for the adventure and challenge.

In the thirty years since the Fastnet tragedy the innovation of satellite communications by Inmarsat has been phenomenal.  Inmarsat is celebrating 30 years of keeping the maritime world in touch as the satellite cornerstone of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. The GMDSS emphasizes the ability to alert shore-based search and rescue authorities, as well as shipping in the immediate vicinity, in order to achieve co-ordinate assistance and rescue operations.

According to Peter Blackhurst, Head of Safety at Inmarsat, if the race organisers had been able to contact all the boats directly in ’79, the outcome could have been very different. Says Blackhurst: “Today’s satellite service delivers a quantum leap in data speed with an equally impressive reduction in size and weight of the hardware onboard. The equipment is comparatively inexpensive and the air time rates are similar to 3G roaming. “

Inmarsat has pioneered broadband for the ocean. The flawless performance of FleetBroadband service during the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) was widely acknowledged, with over 40 hours of high definition TV programming broadcast from the race boats. FleetBroadband has changed the face of international sailing event sponsorship and marketing for ever, as demonstrated by VOR, which put embedded media crew members on each boat to bring the race to broadcasters around the globe, and was watched by two billion race followers.

This year all Fastnet starters have an OCTracker beacon onboard, which will transmit the position of the boat at regular intervals using GPS.  In addition each boat will have an electronic position indicating radio beacon which reports the boats identity and location to the Search and Rescue Authorities if activated in case of emergency.

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About Inmarsat

Inmarsat plc (LSE: ISAT) is the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications.  Since 1979, Inmarsat has been providing reliable voice and high-speed data communications to governments, enterprises and other organizations, with a range of services that can be used on land, at sea or in the air.  The company’s services are delivered through a global network of more than 500 distribution partners and service providers operating in 180 countries.  For the year ended 31st December 2008, Inmarsat plc had total revenue of US$996.7 million (2007: US$576.5 million) with an EBITDA of US$531.2 million (2007: US$388.1 million). For more information, please visit www.inmarsat.com.

For further information, please contact:

John Warehand,

Inmarsat

Tel: +44 20 7728 1579

Mob: +44 7739 778 128

Email: john_warehand@inmarsat.com