BGAN from Stratos Provides Connectivity for Adventurers Running Siberia's Frozen Lake Baikal

--Two runners traverse 400-mile lake to promote water conservation--

BETHESDA, MD, March 10 /PRNewswire/ - Stratos Global Corporation, the leading global provider of advanced mobile and fixed-site remote communications solutions, today announced it is providing world-renowned adventurer Ray Zahab's "Siberian Express for Water" expedition with Inmarsat BGAN mobile broadband satellite service.

Zahab and colleague Kevin Vallely are running the 400-mile (650 km) length of Siberia's frozen Lake Baikal over 10 days to raise awareness of the worldwide scarcity of clean water and inspire young people to push beyond their perceived limitations. Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the world's largest freshwater lake.

The two men are running an average of 40 miles per day, unassisted by skis or support crew and pulling 100-pound sleds behind them carrying food, clothing, shelter and survival gear. The expedition began March 1st and is scheduled to conclude March 11th.

Stratos and its channel partner Satellite Communication Source (Ontario, Canada; www.satellitecomsource.com) provided the BGAN system that is enabling the two Canadian adventurers to broadcast content to their web site www.siberianx.com.

The two men are successfully using BGAN to maintain contact with their project team, post photos and blog entries, upload videos, and stream live video conferencing into classrooms across North America. The video conferences provide a compelling learning experience to more than 8,000 students. During the expedition, students are able to see, speak to and hear the pair in real time - while learning about clean drinking water issues around the world.

"This informative expedition is a dramatic demonstration of BGAN's ability to provide reliable broadband connectivity in very harsh, remote environments," said Stratos President and CEO Jim Parm. "By streaming live video from Siberia, Zahab and Vallely are imparting valuable lessons to students in a very entertaining manner."

About BGAN from Stratos

Stratos is one of the world's largest distributors of Inmarsat's BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) service, a mobile satellite offering that uses portable, lightweight terminals to provide video (guaranteed up to 384 kbps streaming), high-speed data (up to 492 kbps) and voice connectivity anywhere in the world. Users can effectively deploy BGAN services with minimal training. Since its introduction in late 2005, BGAN from Stratos has been widely adopted by media organizations, military agencies, first responders and professionals in many other industries worldwide. Stratos now boasts more than 11,500 BGAN activations in 185 countries.

About The Stratos Advantage

Stratos customers fully utilize The Stratos Advantage, a suite of value-added services that help elevate BGAN from Stratos far above baseline offerings. These value-added services, including Stratos Dashboard, provide users with cost control, instant provisioning, firewall management, full traffic information, pre-paid facilities, high security options, easy VPN access, messaging services and full IP range. More information on BGAN from Stratos is available at www.thepowerofbgan.com.

About The Siberian Express for Water

The Siberian Express for Water journey is the latest expedition for impossible2Possible, a non-profit organization founded by Zahab that uses adventure as a platform to educate, inspire, and empower tomorrow's leaders. Lake Baikal contains about 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water and is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume. By running across the ice-covered surface of one of the earth's most treasured and fragile lakes, Zahab and Vallely hope to teach students about the history, chemistry, biology, culture, and the central role clean drinking water has played in all cultures and civilizations.

About Stratos

Stratos is the world's trusted leader for vital communications. Stratos offers the most powerful and extensive portfolio of remote communications solutions including mobile and fixed satellite and microwave services. More than 20,000 customers use Stratos products and industry-leading value-added services to optimize communications performance. Stratos serves U.S. and international government, military, first responder, NGO, oil and gas, industrial, maritime, aeronautical, enterprise, and media users on seven continents and across the world's oceans. For more information visit www.stratosglobal.com.

SOURCE Stratos Global Corporation

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