New Player in U.S. Satellite Trailer-Tracking/Messaging Market

British telecommunications company Inmarsat, will be looking for asset and trailer-tracking business in the U.S. after Washington approved communication over Inmarsat satellites earlier this month.

Thrane & Thrane of Copenhagen, Denmark, has introduced the eCTrack, a compact satellite antenna for use with the new, low-powered Mini-C communications product from London-based Inmarsat. Inmarsat's primary satellite constellation consists of three geostationary satellites which cover the entire world, not including polar regions. Practical coverage is virtually universal.
The new mini-C service is aimed at a number of markets, including vehicle and fleet tracking, two-way messaging, e-mail and position monitoring. According to Thrane & Thrane, the companies will be reaching out to potential customers in the United States. That will put the Inmarsat system in competition with providers such as Vistar, which provides the GlobalWave asset tracking system. GlobalWave also provides near universal coverage using high-level geosynchronous satellites.