MCLEAN, Va., April 23, 2008 — The Mobile Satellite Users Association (MSUA) announced today that it will be honoring the mobile satellite pioneers who invented the Iridium and Globalstar satellite systems, as well as the innovators responsible for the Inmarsat BGAN system, at its upcoming MSUA-5 International Conference and Exhibition.
The fifth annual MSUA conference is the only event dedicated to the mobile satellite industry and will take place at the Pier 5 Hotel on Baltimore's Inner Harbor, May 13-14, 2008.
"We are recognizing both the three Motorola engineers, Ken Peterson, Bary Bertiger and Ray Leopold, who jointly developed the concept and design for the Iridium satellite system, and Robert Wiedeman, who invented the Globalstar system while at Space Systems/Loral, and was subsequently Vice President of Engineering for Globalstar," explained Bob Roe, chairman of MSUA, and president, Stratos Government Services, Inc. "Because of their pioneering efforts, Iridium and Globalstar became the first commercial satellite systems to offer handheld phone service, and they are still the largest commercial low earth orbiting satellite networks in operation. Both companies brought competition to the mobile satellite market where none existed before and have played a key role in expanding the MSS market to reach over two million users today. We want to honor those achievements through our MSS Pioneer Award."
Tim Farrar, MSUA president, noted that, "MSUA will also honor Alan Howell and Marcus Vilaca of Inmarsat, for leading the development of Inmarsat's new laptop-sized Broadband Global Area Network or BGAN terminal. Our MSUA Innovator Award recognizes the exciting new broadband applications that BGAN has enabled on a worldwide basis, including highly portable video, data and voice communications."
The conference will hear industry updates from many leaders, representing companies such as Inmarsat, Iridium, Globalstar, ICO, Mobile Satellite Ventures and Stratos, about their future plans and competitive position in the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) market. Conference panels will address key issues impacting the development of MSS, such as Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) services, the future of handheld MSS, the rapid growth of low data rate asset tracking services, and the development of new mobile broadband services.
Exhibit space is sold out, but sponsorships are available for MSUA members and non-members. Free admission to the conference is available for government staff and other MSS end-users. For details visit .
Mobile Satellite Users Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the interests of the users of Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) worldwide.
MSUA-5 sponsors include Inmarsat, Comtech Mobile Datacom, EMS Satcom, Hughes Network Systems, Iridium Satellite, Stratos Government Services, and Thrane & Thrane.
Contact: Betsy Kulick, +1 703 281-7262, Email
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