Broadband Global Area Network

The Broadband Global Area Network or BGAN for short, is a global Satellite Internet Network with telephony using portable terminals. The terminals are normally used to connect a laptop computer to broadband Internet in remote locations, although as long as line-of-sight to the satellite exists, the terminal can be used anywhere. The value of BGAN terminals is that unlike other satellite Internet services which require bulky & heavy satellite dishes to connect, a BGAN terminal is smaller than a laptop and thus can be carried anywhere, and used globally. The network is provided by INMARSAT and uses three geostationary satellites with global service (except for the polar regions) ^[1].Downlink speeds of high-end BGAN terminals are up to 492kb/s and upload speeds slightly lower at 300-400kb/s. As with all satellite connections, latency is an issue. BGAN uses improved PEP software or other TCP packet accelerators or third party VPN's such as Skypipe to improve performance.