I-4 satellite
Encyclopedia
Three I-4 satellites make up the INMARSAT
BGAN
, FleetBroadband and SwiftBroadband communications network. They provide Internet
and telephony
connections anywhere on Earth, except the polar regions.
has enough resources available, you are allocated a guaranteed chunk of the available bandwidth. So if you ask for an 8k streaming context, you will at all times be able to send data at 8kbps.
Streaming contexts are billed by time.
Background contexts are billed by volume.
Inmarsat
Inmarsat plc is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global, mobile services. It provides telephony and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate to ground stations through eleven geostationary telecommunications satellites...
BGAN
BGAN
The Broadband Global Area Network is a global Satellite Internet Network with telephony using portable terminals. The terminals are normally used to connect a laptop computer to broadband Internet in remote locations, although as long as line-of-sight to the satellite exists, the terminal can be...
, FleetBroadband and SwiftBroadband communications network. They provide Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and telephony
Telephony
In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
connections anywhere on Earth, except the polar regions.
Streaming
Streaming is a guaranteed delivery style of service. A terminal requests a context of X bandwidth (currently 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256kbps) and, if there your current spot beamSpot beam
A spot beam, in telecommunications parlance, is a satellite signal that is specially concentrated in power A spot beam, in telecommunications parlance, is a satellite signal that is specially concentrated in power A spot beam, in telecommunications parlance, is a satellite signal that is specially...
has enough resources available, you are allocated a guaranteed chunk of the available bandwidth. So if you ask for an 8k streaming context, you will at all times be able to send data at 8kbps.
Streaming contexts are billed by time.
Background
Background is a best effort style of service. Each spot beam provides a certain amount of usable bandwidth. The bandwidth which is not in use by Streaming contexts is used for Background contexts. This means that the actual amount of bandwidth you receive with a background context will vary over time. The theoretical maximum bandwidth available is ~400kbps.Background contexts are billed by volume.