11 September 2018: Inmarsat has signed a contract with Exagone, owner and operator of the TERIA network, France’s leading provider of geo-positioning technology, to become its sole provider of satellite connectivity.

By integrating our award-winning L-band constellation into the TERIA network, Exagone will be able to offer European businesses highly accurate asset tracking to within one centimetre, regardless of their location or the quality of the terrestrial connectivity services.

The TERIA network is made up of over 200 antennas located throughout France, with privileged access to antennas in neighbouring countries. Working in collaboration with existing GPS providers, the TERIA network can provide ultra-accurate measurement and location monitoring, supporting applications specific to automotive manufacturers and autonomous vehicles in the transport and agricultural sectors.

Secure connectivity

Inmarsat’s L-band satellite network offers the world’s most reliable, secure connectivity for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) applications globally. With satellite availability up to 99.9% and low latency data transmission, it is the ideal solution for applications where connectivity is mission-critical.

Commenting on the partnership, Paul Chambon, Technical Director at Exagone, said: “The rise of autonomous vehicles has been one of the most exciting developments to emerge in decades, and we now have many customers looking for asset tracking solutions to support autonomous cars, minibuses, tractors and unmanned drones.

“However, these vehicles need constant, reliable data collection to function safely and effectively, so that staff in control centres can analyse operational performance. This new agreement with Inmarsat will give us the critical failover component of our communications network to ensure that our customers can constantly track and monitor their assets.”

Compelling proposition

Paul Gudonis, President of Inmarsat Enterprise, commented: “We are very pleased to be selected to work with Exagone on this project and look forward to delivering highly reliable connectivity, which supports precision tracking no matter how remote the location or how overloaded terrestrial networks are.

“Businesses are under pressure to operate more efficiently and sustainably, and we believe the TERIA network augmented by Inmarsat offers the European automotive and transport sector a really compelling proposition to help them achieve this.”