Satellite firm calls pitch for global brief

Global mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat is looking for an agency to handle a 6.4m worldwide campaign.

Inmarsat describes itself as an intergovernmental organisation, made up of 79 member countries. Participating companies include BT.

It buys satellites, launches them and controls them in orbit, allowing any two parties with the right equipment to communicate with each other, anywhere in the world. Its main clients are shipping lines, airlines, trucking companies, aid agencies and news organisations.

The company is understood to be drawing up a shortlist of six agencies, which it says is necessary because of the increasing number of competitors.

Ico, set up by Inmarsat with private investment at the start of this year, is also seeking an agency.

Ico is attempting to create a mass-market business by offering handheld satellite phones for about 600, rather than the 12,000 which the larger version costs.

The latest handheld terminals allow users to talk on land-based cellular phone systems but transfer without interruption to satellite communications once they move outside the cellular network.