Are you getting grey hair trying to understand the differences between Iridium Certus, Iridium Pilot and Inmarsat Fleetbroadband? Below is a clear comparison of the services. Which one is best for you? Let us know!
Data and phone services are available on all platforms where Iridium offers 3 lines on both services and High Quality Voice on Certus. Inmarsat standard has 1 voice line but can have multivoice added)
Safety services are not available on Iridium Pilot but GMDSS will be available by 2020on Certus. Fleet Broadband offers a partial service (505 Service not GMDSS Compliant).
Coverage: Iridium uses a Low Earth Orbit constellation of 66 operational satellites and 9 spares whereas Inmarsat Fleet Broadband has 4 Geo Stationary Satellites in orbit. Note that Geo Stationary satellites can’t cover the North- and South pole, Iridium does offer polar coverage
Standard Data Speeds: While Iridium OpenPort is limited to 134 Kbps, Certus can achieve up to 1408 Kbps throughput depending on the chosen terminal. Fleet Broadband will be able to achieve up to 284 Kbps and 432 Kbps with resp. theri FB250 and FB500 models.
Streaming Data Speeds: Iridium Pilot does not offer streaming capability and Certus will allow up to 256 Kbps (expected in 2019). FBB’s streaming capabilities are 128 Kbps for FB250 and 256 Kbps for the FB500 model.
Continuous coverage: Iridium is able to function without interruption when switching from one satellite to the next. You will need to keep in mind outages o up to several minutes on Inmarsat Fleet Broadband.
Ease of Installation: While the Iridium Pilot and Certus models are relatively easy to install and configure, the Inmarsat FB250 and FB500 would require somewhat more technical knowledge.
Data Plans: All services offer Short Term, flexible and pooled plans. Additionally Iridium has the possibilityto use the service as ‘Pay as you go’ which is not possible with Inmarsat’s Fleet Broadband. If you already have a VSAT connection available then Iridium will offer a companion plan. This is only partially supported by Inmarsat.
Pricing
- Iridium OpenPort: Terminal $$, services $-$$
- Iridium Certus: Terminal $$-$$$, services $-$$
- Inmarsat FleetBroadband: Terminal $$$-$$$$, services $$-$$$$
Iridium Certus: New Service … we double the fun
For the launch of Iridium Certus we are offering double bandwidth on Iridium Certus data plans:
250MB plan
Activation cost: $0
Monthly inclusive allowance: 250MB -> 500MB
Monthly subscription: $810,-
Out of allowance per MB: $3,73
Minimum contract period: 3 months
Early termination fee: $1.292,-
1GB plan
Activation cost: $0
Monthly inclusive allowance: 1GB -> 2GB
Monthly subscription: $1.165,-
Out of allowance per MB: $1,08
Minimum contract period: 3 months
Early termination fee: $1.938,-
Streaming data rates per minute:
14.4 kbps: $1.00
28 kbps: $2.87
40 kbps: $4.31
56 kbps: $5.17
96 kbps: 10.05
128 kbps: 14.36
168 kbps: 18.66
256 kbps: 28.71
Voice rates per minute:
To PSTN (includes call forward): $0.43
To Iridium (incl. call forward): $0.30
To other satellite networks: $12.92
To voicemail: $0.30
To additional shortcodes: $0.30
Alerts and other calls: $0.43
PSTN to Iridium using local numbering: $0.52
PSTN to Iridium via 2-stage dialling: $0.52
Call forward to voicemail: $0
Static public IP address per months: $30.-