At GateHouse, 2010 marked the year for the completion and release of the Company’s BGAN Software Defined Radio (SDR) waveform. A complete SDR-based BGAN radio was successfully demonstrated at the SDR Forum Conference and Exhibition in Washington DC in December 2009.

The demonstration showed the result of the joint SDR program completed by GateHouse, Inmarsat plc and Spectrum Signal Processing by Vecima, and offered evidence that BGAN SDR-based satellite communication is an opportunity readily at hand for manufacturers of military radios.

In July of 2010, GateHouse and Inmarsat signed an agreement to jointly promote the BGAN SDR waveform. The agreement strengthens the technological and commercial co-operation between the two companies and supports a joint effort in bringing the complete BGAN SDR waveform, compatible with the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) framework, to the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program. BGAN SDR opens a new path to establishing broadband satellite Communication On The Move (COTM), and will provide beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communication capabilities for military forces engaged in remote regions where BGAN currently is the only viable option.

SDR radio manufacturers will benefit from the joint implementation road map which ensures a fast track to developing a type approved Inmarsat BGAN user terminal. Further, SDR provides radio manufacturers with the opportunity to customize their offering to meet changing customer demands with limited extra costs and extended time to market, i.e., the opportunity to deliver greater customer value at lower costs.

GateHouse is confident the agreement with Inmarsat preludes a breakthrough for the BGAN SDR waveform. The technology has proven to be mature and will significantly reduce development efforts and allow military, commercial radio, and terminal manufacturers to quickly bring unique communications solutions to the market.

In the Autumn 2010, GateHouse formally joined an international project team — counting amongst others Inmarsat, Broad Reach Engineering, and COM DEV Europe — which will co-operate in the development of a satellite terminal for the new SB-SAT technology. The SB-SAT technology uses the Inmarsat BGAN network and I-4 satellites to enable online, real-time communications with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites from the ground. GateHouse is commissioned to deliver protocol and application software to the project.

In perspective, SB-SAT capability is envisioned to enhance current missions, and may enable a whole new set of space missions that have mission critical needs to send and receive data with only seconds of latency.

Looking ahead, GateHouse is pleased with the portfolio of newly planned features to BGAN that were announced by Inmarsat in 2010 — the Company is confident these plans will attract further projects and enable a continued high activity level in the company’s satellite communication business unit in the years to come.