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Regional BGAN - High-Speed Internet
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The Regional BGAN (RBGAN) is the most interesting news for adventure
data transmissions since the birth of Inmarsat M4/GAN.
 Inmarsat launched the RBGAN late 2002 based on Thuraya's satellite
system. Coverage is in parity with Thuraya handsets.
The RBGAN made by Hughes transfers data at 144kb/s. In
addition, the RBGAN bundles the data, so you only pay for what you
use.
The very cool small box (30cm x 24cm x 4cm and 1.5 kg) is Bluetooth-enabled.
The price is an amazing $1500. (Compare to Inmarsat 's GAN at $8,000-$10,000
for half the speed).
Comparing the data transfer cost, one MB of information would
cost you well over $30 on a Thuraya, approximately $100 with an Iridium, but only $15 with a RBGAN, so the unit makes sense even for smaller
data transfers.
Expect to see many of these units in Everest BC in the future. You
cannot
make voice calls with it and the Global coverage is limited, but
for fast data transfers, the RBGAN is a star.
Coverage and more |
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