Orbcomm and Inmarsat are extending their partnership to at least 2035. The two companies will collaborate on joint product innovation and distribution of IoT satellite services and telematics devices.

As part of the partnership, the companies are developing a service called OGx, which features two offerings to suit future customer demand. The first is a higher data rate service designed to be nearly 40 times faster than the current IsatData Pro (IDP) service, allowing for much larger messages and faster delivery times.

New Jersey-based Orbcomm’s current IDP terminals can be seamlessly upgraded over-the-air to the higher data rate OGx service, so users can start development and integration now to ensure their products are market-ready when the OGx network becomes available, expected in 2022.

In addition, Orbcomm and Inmarsat are designing a second OGx offering, which is power-efficient, to support a daily message for multiple years on a satellite terminal using a single AA battery, making it suitable for remote monitoring and environmental sensing applications.

“By extending our long-term, successful partnership with Inmarsat and developing a leading combination of higher data rate and power-efficient OGx services and terminals, we can continue to offer the industry’s best satellite offering with the broadest geographic coverage, the most regulatory authorisations and the best value to users,” said Marc Eisenberg, Orbcomm’s chief executive officer. “We will continue to leverage our synergies, innovation and market leadership in collaboration with Inmarsat to deliver state-of-the-art IoT products and services to an even broader customer base around the world.”

Both OGx offerings are designed to have expanded broadcasting capabilities to send data to large groups of terminals and can leverage multiple modes of operation that can be tuned specifically for the required application.

The OGx offerings, which incorporate the current IDP service, will be supported by UK-based Inmarsat’s L-band constellations, including the current I-4 constellation and its forthcoming sixth generation (I-6) constellation. Inmarsat’s global L-band constellation is said to offer the most sophisticated payload and lowest latency of any L-band satellite store-and-forward service.

The L-band fleet delivers connectivity with 99.9% network availability and a ubiquitous, resilient and flexible method for remote monitoring of fixed and mobile assets. Inmarsat’s I-6 satellites will extend service capabilities to current and new IoT offerings, providing a reliable, cost-effective and backwards compatible satellite service.

Inmarsat will also distribute Orbcomm’s portfolio of OGx telematics devices globally through its commercial and government sales channels, targeting OEMs and value-added resellers. In addition, the companies will continue to partner to provide end-to-end IoT, including global wireless connectivity, hardware and cloud-based reporting and analytics platforms for end users in multiple vertical markets.

“Through our enduring strategic partnership with Orbcomm, we are seeing an extensive global market opportunity for our L-band IoT services, which enable increased business value to industries with remote operations,” said Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat’s chief executive officer. “As the digital world continues to evolve, together Inmarsat and Orbcomm will play a pivotal role in providing unparalleled network connectivity and best-in-class IoT that will enable nearly every type of industrial asset to be smart and remotely connected.”