OTTAWA and ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 16, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- EMS SATCOM, a division of EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG), reported today at the National Business Aviation Association's annual convention that it has successfully completed the testing of its eNfusion(tm) AMT-3500 fuselage-mount Intermediate-Gain Antenna (IGA) with Inmarsat. The IGA, which has now received Inmarsat's recognition of compliance with agreed requirements, is the first antenna of its kind to receive Inmarsat Type Approval.
"Our strategy to develop new markets, such as air transport, and to enable broadband on smaller aircraft, drove us to design and build this antenna," says EMS SATCOM Senior Vice President and General Manager Neil Mackay. "We announced the AMT-3500 IGA at NBAA last year, and in just a few short months we have added another type-approved antenna to our eNfusion product line. With performance very near that of our AMT-3800 high-gain antenna, we are making it easier to have in-flight broadband on smaller aircraft."
The eNfusion AMT-3500 antenna is the only ARINC 781-compliant IGA to receive Type Approval from Inmarsat. It is designed to fit even smaller aircraft than its sister AMT-3800 high-gain antenna (HGA), and is also ideal as a smaller, lighter solution for larger aircraft. ARINC 781 antennas consist of two modules, the antenna and the diplexer/low-noise amplifier (DLNA), instead of the usual three modules required for ARINC 741 antennas. The AMT-3500 IGA, which is approximately half the weight of the AMT-3800 HGA and occupies just one-third the volume, was purposefully built to operate with Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband service in a smaller physical package while still offering similar performance to the larger antenna.
Notes Mackay, "As part of our commitment to making broadband easy to install and use, we will also be designing antenna interface mounts for this IGA that will fit a range of airframes; the first of which include the Airbus A318, A319, and A320 family of aircraft."
About EMS SATCOM
EMS SATCOM specializes in the design and development of satellite-based terminals and antennas for the aeronautical, ground-mobile, maritime and emergency management markets. As the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Command and Control Enabling Technology of the Year award winner, the division is a leader in developing and supplying high-speed data communications equipment for enabling vital communications resources such as voice, e-mail and Internet capabilities to a broad variety of aircraft. Based in Ottawa, Canada, the company employs 270 people worldwide, including its development office in the U.K. and sales offices in the U.S., Mexico and Europe.
EMS SATCOM is a division of EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG), a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of wireless, satellite and defense solutions.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.emssatcom.com
NOTE TO EDITORS: EMS SATCOM is exhibiting at NBAA 2006, in Booth Number 4253. For high-resolution photos, visit the company's virtual pressroom: www.emssatcom.com/nbaa2006