Mobile Satellite Communications Handbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 5Introduction to INMARSAT

Originally an unusual intergovernmental organization (IGO) known as the International Maritime Satellite Organization and before 1999 referred to either by the acronym Inmarsat or INMARSAT, Inmarsat plc. (plc. is an acronym used in Britain and elsewhere for “public limited company”; somewhat comparable to the US term “inc.” or “corp.”) today is a London-based publicly traded corporation that is—and has been since its formation—the largest provider of mobile satellite communications services. The Inmarsat plc of today is a far cry from the INMARSAT that operated for almost two decades, although it is impossible to fully understand the Inmarsat plc. of today without understanding its origins as a treaty organization from 1969 through 1999. For this reason, in this chapter we will review INMARSAT, its unique and somewhat complex origins and history as a treaty-based organization (often referred to as an IGO), as well as its business and services through 1999. Just as important, the origins of the INMARSAT organization during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s are in many respects the origins of the mobile satellite communications industry—which today includes many more service providers than Inmarsat plc.

In order to easily distinguish between the former treaty-based organization and the shareholder-owned corporation that evolved from it, throughout this book, we use the terms “INMARSAT,” “INMARSAT Organization,” and “organization” to refer to the treaty-based ...