Frost and Sullivan Case Study
IRIDIUM AND GLOBALSTAR: QUALITY OF SERVICE COMPARISON IN THE GULF COAST REGION – 2008
Frost & Sullivan’s satellite and telecommunications practice has now completed its third LEO Satellite Telephone Quality of Service Comparison.
This latest evaluation has found that calls through the Iridium system are nearly three and half times more likely to be successfully connected and completed, without being dropped, than calls placed through the Globalstar network. In Southern Florida, Iridium’s call success rate was measured to be 93.0 percent, compared to Globalstar’s 26.7 percent. While on the Texas Gulf Coast Iridium’s call success rate was measured to be 97.2 percent, compared to Globalstar’s 29.8 percent. Call success was defined, as it was last year, as a call connection on first attempt and the connection being maintained for a period of three minutes.
Demand for mobile satellite services continues to grow worldwide as users increasingly value the global coverage that satellite systems can offer. Purchasing decisions by those planning to introduce this technology into their recovery or survival plans require an unbiased assessment of the available services. Whether a user is an offshore fisherman, member of the National Guard, or a volunteer with a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is responding to an emergency, reliability remains a key issue when deciding on which service to use. Frost & Sullivan, in partnership with Iridium, has performed a third set of unbiased service testing – this time in the Gulf Coast Region of the United States.
Frost & Sullivan conducted its first LEO Satellite Telephone Quality of Service Comparison in July of 2002 (commissioned by Globalstar) and it’s second set in February of 2007 (commissioned by Iridium). The MSS market continues to experience double-digit growth, and this independent, third party comparison of both Iridium and Globalstar’s quality of service provides baseline information for both satellite users and providers.