Telenor Doubles Broadband Satellite Sub

OSLO and ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Telenor Satellite Services today announced that it more than doubled its customer base of Regional Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) service in 2004.

According to statistics released at the end of 2004, the company said that the strongest markets of Regional BGAN usage are the geographic areas where war and aid are at the forefront of all issues. However, the fastest growing markets and the largest majority of new sales in 2004 came from non-traditional new markets such as finance, energy and civil government usage.

"The strong interest in mobile broadband communications over satellite confirms our belief that these services provide business and industry the necessary tools for continued economic growth," said Jeff Irwin, Telenor's Regional BGAN product manager. "Telenor plans to continue to fuel this strong interest in Regional BGAN service in 2005 with discounted hardware and service packages with no monthly subscription fees and special free airtime incentives for its worldwide network of service providers."

The company announced that it is lowering its Regional BGAN airtime costs in 96 of the 99 countries where the service is offered, some by as much as 40 percent per megabyte lower.

Telenor ASA