Redknee successfully won the mandate from Inmarsat (announced on February 11, 2008) to deliver a flexible charging platform for its BGAN service, which is supplied by distributors in a number of geographies. After a competitive tender process, Inmarsat selected Redknee's Turnkey Converged Billing solution because it provides the flexibility required to support its many satellite communications distributors with a number of dynamic pricing plans across a number of services - including voice, SMS and other data services.

According to analyst firm Northern Sky Research (NSR), commercial satellite revenue is expected to increase 56% to $12.9Billion US by 2017. Inmarsat's award-winning BGAN solution delivers up to 492kbps of data anywhere on the planet, and enables Internet access with full audio and video streaming capabilities in some of the most remote regions of the globe. Redknee's Turnkey Converged Billing solution provides Inmarsat with real-time, prepaid charging for voice, messaging and data, along with the ability to integrate fully with its existing client relationship management platform.

Michael Butler, President and COO of Inmarsat, said, "We needed a pre-paid billing solution that would meet our high standards and those of our distribution partners. Redknee's Turnkey Converged Billing solution has met the challenge once again by addressing the billing and charging needs of our innovative BGAN service, with a solution that also provides flexibility to meet future billing requirements."

Lucas Skoczkowski, CEO of Redknee, added, "This is an important launch for Redknee, as it demonstrates the flexibility and robustness of our product based solutions across a diverse client base, in Tier 1 markets as well as high growth markets. Furthermore, we are excited to play a part in helping those in the remotest regions of the world stay connected through voice, messaging, and the mobile Internet."

More than 500 distribution partners and service providers market Inmarsat services around the world, and therefore face a challenge in providing a consistently high level of billing to customers wherever the services are offered. Inmarsat provides branded prepaid vouchers to its partners for selling to customers who need mobile satellite communications, including journalists, aid workers, maritime users, oil and gas exploration teams, and more.

Redknee's Turnkey Converged Billing solution transparently manages the separate rating and billing for these distribution partners through Inmarsat, and provides the consistency required by Inmarsat's distribution partners.

Keywords: broadband wireless satellite internet access, global area network, client relationship management, voice sms, commercial satellite, billing solution, northern sky, billing requirements, satellite communications, michael butler, dynamic pricing, growth markets, inmarsat, tier 1, Satellite Broadband

By Robert Hoskins

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