KVH Industries TracPhone F55 - Manual (Page 14)

The Inmarsat Fleet Service Introduction
2 Introduction
2.1 The Inmarsat Fleet Service
The Inmarsat Fleet service is based on 4 Geo-stationary 3 rd
generation satellites situated above the equator. Geo-
stationary means that the satellites are always located in
the same position, i.e. they rotate at the same speed as
that of the earth. Each satellite covers a certain area
(footprint) and supports a number of powerful spot-beams
making the service available in virtually all ocean regions
on the earth between approximately 76°N and 76°S.
The 4 Geo-Stationary Inmarsat Satellites
The satellites are your connection to the worldwide
networks, and they are managed by the Network Co-
ordination Stations (NCSs), run by Inmarsat. The primary
functions of the NCSs are to constantly keep track of which
terminals are logged on to the system, and assign a free
channel whenever a call is made.
A Land Earth Station (LES) is a gateway between the public
network and the satellites. Different operators around the
world run the various LES’s.
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