American Mobile Satellite Corp. is the latest trucking communications provider to go through a name change. Effective today, Motient Corp. is the new name for the company.
"We have clearly moved beyond our initial role as a satellite service provider," said Gary M. Parsons, Motient chairman.
"The new name and branding is more consistent with our role as a mobile Internet provider with a comprehensive terrestrial and satellite data communications network."
Motient will continue to market MobileMAX2, its mobile communications system for fleets. That product, which offers near universal coverage by satellite, automatically shifts to lower-cost cellular data communication where it is available.
Motient began business as American Mobile Satellite in 1988. AMSC-1, a high-orbit, geosynchronous satellite in a fixed position over North America, was launched in 1995. In 1997, the company acquired the ARDIS wireless packet data network, a ground-based network of 1,700 towers covering 427 metropolitan areas and 10,700 towns in the U.S.
"Motient conveys a sense of motion, intelligence and information -- all critically important factors in how we provide wireless communications solutions," said Walter V. Purnell, Jr., Motient president and CEO.