Products, Sponsorships and Events

Evosat is still pursuing opportunities to give back to the community with sponsorships of many out of the ordinary charitable expeditions. Evosat has been involved with the Kingsley Holgate on many of his expeditions, providing Kingsley and his team with satellite communications for their many trips around Africa. This time Kingsley  and his team will be going on The Great African Rift Valley Expedition, with the Humanitarian Objective of using adventure to improve and save lives. One of the main objectives will be to aid the Unite Against Malaria organisation. Evosat is very pleased to yet again be sponsoring Kingsley Holgate with Satellite Communications, and wishes him and his team all the best on their next Great Adventure.

The second half of 2011 has been very busy with new products hitting the market from Inmarsat and Beam. In previous posts I have talked about the Beam Docking Solutions for IsatPhone Pro, and Inmarsat and Beam have now come out with the Oceana and Terra units that form part of the Global Satellite Phone Service (GSPS) from Inmarsat.
The Ocean unit is essentially the new Fleetphone device for Maritime use. There are two units, the Oceana 400 and 800, the former being the entry level unit. Both units offer voice, text, and low speed data for ship board communications. The Terra 400 and 800 units are land devices, again offering voice, text and low speed data in office type environments. Keep watching the GSPS space as new products and accessories are being tested and brought to market on a regular basis due to the successful roll out of the Inmarsat IsatPhone Pro.

Photo : Ian Roman/Volvo Ocean Race

In early December, the Volvo Ocean Race will be coming to sunny South African shores in the Cape Town leg of this well-known round the world ocean race. Evosat, together with Inmarsat, will be hosting events during the weekend for many of our customers. It should yet again be a very exciting weekend for all. All the yachts in the VOR are equipped with satellite communications equipment (FleetBroadband) from Inmarsat. Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband service takes media coverage of the race into a whole new era. Faster transmission speeds deliver better quality live broadcasts – the first HDTV transmissions from yachts in the middle of the ocean. If you want to find out more, take a look at this link: www.volvo.inmarsat.com/index.html

Photo : Ian Roman/Volvo Ocean Race

Nearing the End Of the Year.

Since my last post there has been quite a bit going on in the world of Evosat. IsatPhone Pro has continued to be a winning product, with sales continuing to grow. Stock levels have also risen considerably meaning that supply lines are now functioning at a much higher rate. MWC has also started to become an asked for service by many customers, and new scenarios for its use are being explored every week. MWC is also becoming a stronger product for customers as new upgrades and development are done by the Operations team.

Recently in the GSPS fold, Beam Communications have launched the IsatDock range. These are docking units for the IsatPhone Pro that enable users to get different functionality out of their phones, and use them in different environments. In the Dock range are the IsatDock Lite, The IsatDock Pro, The IsatDock Drive, and the IsatDock Marine. For Evosat, the more exciting products are the Marine and Drive Docks as they will not only be a great service for existing clients, but also bring new clients into the Evosat fold.

The IsatDock Drive is the car kit for the IsatPhone Pro, and comes with an antenna and hands free kit to allow for calls whilst on the move. The IsatDock Marine is the Maritime unit, which is obviously for use at sea. This also comes with a marine antenna and has an IP rating for use at sea. Both units have track and trace capabilities which allow for more functionality than the usual voice and text. These units are manufactured and supplied by Beam Communications, who are based in Australia.

Next month Evosat and our partner Sat4Rent are co-sponsoring the Governors Cup yacht race (1 December till 10 December 2010). The Governor’s Cup is a 1700 mile – usually downwind, yacht race from Cape Town in South Africa, to James Bay on St. Helena Island. No doubt the Evosat Team will be out in force to see the yachts depart from False Bay Yacht club in Simonstown, and to cheer on the competitors.

Moving to great heights!

Firstly a quick update on the 7 Summits 7 Flights team. I am very happy to say that their first ascent and flight were successful. Although Mt. Elbrus was not expected to be the most difficult climb, no one has ever managed the flight off the summit. Evosat was very proud to assist with communications for the team, as they needed to use the BGAN whilst on the mountain. There will be a bit of a gap until the next summit due to climbing seasons, but I will keep you updated when the time comes for the next ascent. Evosat will once again be there to provide satellite communications for the 7 Summits team.

The IsatPhone Pro is proving to be extremely popular with customers around the world. Evosat has exceeded all targets for the first month since commercial launch, and with incoming orders are set to continue in that fashion for the foreseeable future. Long may it continue!

At the end of this month, Evosat will start testing the Beta Docking units for the IsatPhone Pro. These products are being manufactured by Beam Communications out of Australia. Evosat is already signed up as a Tier One Reseller, so we hope to be at the forefront for what promises to be a welcome addition to the IsatPhone Pro product bouquet. There will be four docks available: the IsatDock Lite; IsatDock Pro; IsatDock Drive; and IsatDock Marine. All of these docks have been custom designed for use with the IsatPhone Pro. I am sure I will have some positive feedback after testing, as they look set to be a class product.

MWC (Morale and Welfare Communications) is also coming into its own now, with the customer base spreading. The system itself has been continuously upgraded and refined, using feedback from clients to make MWC one of the most user friendly, efficient, and beneficial services within the BGAN and FleetBroadband array.