Thrane & Thrane, manufacturers of mobile satellite communications systems, has entered a BGAN extension contract with global satcom provider Inmarsat.

The contract covers an upgrade of the radio access network satellite access stations to manage the planned broadband services for aeronautical, maritime and land vehicular usage.

The extension incorporates specification of design work valued at $1.9 million, planned for completion in the first half of the calendar year of 2006. Under the contract, Inmarsat will also implement and test these broadband services on the RAN Satellite Access Stations. This part of the contract has an overall estimated value of approximately $805 million.

The new broadband services will be faster than the current Inmarsat services and will offer voice and data connectivity at speeds of up to 492 kilobytes per second.