Media reporting on the military movements in the Middle East are depending on Inmarsat maritime and land based satellite services to ensure up to the minute and objective accounts are available to a global audience, including journalists working with Middle Eastern broadcaster Abu Dhabi Television, according to a company press release.
“This is what I am using to file my stories from sea. We are able to access the Internet to file stories and share information at virtually any time thanks to Inmarsat maritime services,” said Abu Dhabi TV journalist Abdullah Saafin, writing via Internet Chat from a US Navy ship on patrol in the Gulf.
“I can stay in touch with the station and keep updated with every move in the region, as well as contribute to our pool of knowledge. This means that the news station stays totally up to date.” Using services such as Inmarsat B, contributing journalists are able to share a ‘knowledge pool’ of up to the minute information, and therefore can table more informed questions and investigations.”
“If something happens at the UN, we are aware of it and can then reflect this information in the approach we are taking out here at sea. The result is that we are more informed with more up-to-date resources, and we can support a better quality of informed journalism,” comments Saafin.
Satellite technology is enabling the media to make more informed, and greater in-depth analysis of the events, as they happen, wherever these reporters might be. Inmarsat B is a global communications system that extends modern digital technology to the mobile satellite communications field.
Inmarsat B offers voice, telex, medium and high-speed data (64 kbps), and fax, for much less than the traditional Inmarsat A service. Inmarsat B appeals particularly to high volume users of voice and data. Typical industries that use the Inmarsat B service are offshore exploration, cruise-ships, deep-sea shipping and government agencies. Media applications for Inmarsat services are contributing to the very high current levels of demand for satellite bandwidth being seen in the Middle East region.
Network management specialists at Inmarsat and at Inmarsat Land Earth Station Operators (LESOs) are seeing very high peaks in regional demand from the region, as journalists from around the world file reports and stay in touch using Inmarsat’s maritime and GAN services as well as the high speed Regional BGAN service.
“Inmarsat is servicing high demand from media working around the entire region, and we are working hard to ensure that services are operating to the highest efficiency,” said Inmarsat regional director Samer Halawi. “Not just media, but also aid agencies and other NGOs are using Inmarsat services to support the requirement for reliable communications anywhere in the region.” — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
