Inmarsat Launchpad: Bgan User Guide
Inmarsat Launchpad: Bgan User Guide
inmarsat.com/bgan
Whilst the above information has been prepared by Inmarsat in good faith, and all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure its accuracy, Inmarsat makes no warranty or representation as to the accuracy,
completeness or fitness for purpose or use of the information. Inmarsat shall not be liable for any loss or damage of any kind, including indirect or consequential loss, arising from use of the information and all
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Satellite Organisation, Inmarsat LOGO is a trademark of Inmarsat (IP) Company Limited. Both trademarks are licensed to Inmarsat Global Limited. © Inmarsat Global Limited 2010. All rights reserved.
1.2 Scope 1
1.3 Assumptions 1
1.4 Terminology 1
Getting started 2
2 Introducing Inmarsat LaunchPad Version 5.0 2
5 Selecting language 8
Data connections 12
9 Opening and closing data connections 12
9.1 Opening a standard IP data connection 12
Phone services 21
12 Call log 21
13 Telephony settings 24
13.1 Viewing telephone numbers 24
13.4 Caller ID 26
Text messaging 29
14 Receiving and sending text messages 29
Managing contacts 34
16 Adding, editing or deleting contacts 34
20 Security 41
Updating software 44
21 Checking for software updates 44
22 Updating software 45
Support services 46
23 Accessing service provider support 46
24 Viewing diagnostics 47
25 Tools 48
Advanced features 51
28 Creating a new primary connection 51
Troubleshooting 58
31 Can’t open a data connection? 58
34.1 Installation 61
34.2 Un-installation Process 66
The user guide is intended for first time end-users, Distribution Partners, Service Providers and
anyone who is using LaunchPad with a BGAN terminal. A previous knowledge of satellite
communications is useful, but not essential.
1.2 Scope
This document gives detailed instructions on each function or menu option that is common to all
BGAN terminals together with a screen-by-screen guide of how to install LaunchPad on your
computer for both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OSX.
It does not describe how to use menu options that are specific to a particular terminal.
For this information, refer to the supplementary guide Using LaunchPad on the <terminal name>,
where <terminal name> is the terminal model.
It does not give help on how to use specific applications over the Inmarsat network.
For this information, refer to the solutions guides, available for download from
www.inmarsat.com/support.
The functions and menu options described in this document are common to all Operating Systems
although actual screen displays differ between Microsoft Windows and Macintosh OSX platforms.
1.3 Assumptions
• You have installed your BGAN terminal and SIM card as described in the documentation
supplied with your terminal.
• You have a connection already set up between the terminal and your computer.
• Inmarsat LaunchPad has been installed on your computer. If not, follow the installation
instructions in Inmarsat LaunchPad Installer for Microsoft Windows on pages 61 or Inmarsat
LaunchPad Installer for MAC OS X on page 68.
1.4 Terminology
When you see the term “LaunchPad” in this guide, this refers to Inmarsat LaunchPad.
1.5 Useful references
Other documentation on BGAN and LaunchPad is available for download from the Inmarsat
website at www.inmarsat.com/support.
• New look and feel to the user interface including a range of modern icons.
• Connect icon updates to show the actual Streaming IP Connection currently selected.
• The initial LaunchPad screen for portable BGAN terminals displays the world map as
shown in the screen below, left. Once the BGAN terminal has registered with the network
(see Pointing and registering with the network on page 7), the screen contracts to show
the file structure, function icons and status bar as shown in the screen below, right.
The world map is not displayed again but can be retrieved from Tools.
• The initial LaunchPad screen for vehicular BGAN terminals shows the file structure,
function icons and status bar.
The functions and menu options described in this document are common to all Operating Systems.
However, actual screen displays differ between Microsoft Windows and Macintosh platforms,
principally in the use of the banner and positioning of the menu structure.
The following two screens demonstrate the differences between operating systems.
LaunchPad initial portable BGAN screen on Microsoft Windows:
Throughout this document, the Microsoft Windows screen displays have been used, except to
describe LaunchPad Installation for which separate instructions are given for Microsoft Windows
and Macintosh in Chapters 34 and 35 respectively.
Inmarsat LaunchPad is a software interface that enables you to manage your BGAN terminal from
any connected computer. Using Inmarsat LaunchPad you can:
• Get assistance with pointing a portable BGAN terminal.
• Open and close data connections using a simple point and click interface.
• Enable TCP Accelerator, which improves the performance of TCP applications over BGAN.
• Select language.
• Check for and download software updates.
• Access diagnostic reports, log files and view service provider support information.
Perform management functions such as creating dedicated data connections and resetting
the configuration to factory defaults.
Note: Screens in this user guide show the version number 0.0.0. See Updating software
on page 45 to ensure you have the latest version of LaunchPad.
• Connected to. Displays the actual BGAN model currently connected to LaunchPad.
Temperature icon:
GPS icon: The icon indicates the GPS is either new or sufficiently
recent to be valid.
• Status. Shows the current status of your terminal eg. In pointing mode, Registered with
network, Standard data connection open, Streaming data connection open, etc.
Signal strength. A horizontal bar shows the current signal strength (0 – 100%). Use the
symbol to open a graphical display of signal strength over time. To close the graph use . .
Inmarsat
LaunchPad
The following status bar is displayed at the bottom of the main screen as LaunchPad searches
for the terminal:
Note: Depending on your terminal’s configuration, you may be asked to enter a SIM PIN. If so,
enter the SIM PIN provided by your Service Provider and click on OK.
• If this is the first time you have connected to the terminal, the Select Terminal screen
is displayed:
• Select the correct terminal type and interface from the drop-down lists and click
on Search.
Note: If you subsequently connect from LaunchPad to the same terminal over the same
interface, you do not have to complete this screen again.
Or
The Status bar changes to Retrieving status of the terminal.
BGAN portable terminals will display In pointing mode until the terminal is successfully pointed
at the satellite and then Attempting registration with network.
Vehicular BGAN terminals are automatically pointed to the satellite and only display Attempting
registration with network.
• Click on Tools and then click on the world map, if it is not already displayed in the
operational panel.
• Either:
i. Identify your nearest town either by using the Select nearest city drop-down list
above the map (note that the most recently used town may be showing rather than
the Select nearest city prompt), or by clicking on the map in your current location.
Your location is shown on the map by a red dot. Or
ii. Select a user-defined GPS location if one has been set up (see Creating a user-
defined GPS location on page 10) from the Select nearest city drop-down list.
• The area below the map is updated with information that you can use to help you point
the antenna: satellite name (Americas, Asia-Pacific, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa),
antenna angle and compass direction.
• Selecting a city in the overlap coverage area from two satellites results in the display of
both satellites with their corresponding angles and elevation.
The example below demonstrates selection of Brasilia located in the Americas and EMEA
satellite overlap zone:
Note: Most BGAN terminal types have audio and/or visual aids to help you with pointing.
Refer to the documentation supplied with your terminal for details.
When the terminal has registered successfully, the following screen is displayed:
5 Selecting language
LaunchPad is delivered in English by default but may be configured for a number of languages.
Select File > Change Language to change LaunchPad to your preferred language.
a. Select your preferred language from the Select language drop-down list.
c. Click on Yes to shut down LaunchPad. When LaunchPad is re-opened it will appear in your
selected language.
Note: If any data connections are open, you will be offered the option to close these on shut
down. See Managing data connections on closedown on page 11.
Note: If you click on No it will abort both the PC shutdown and the language change
and return you to the Change Language screen. Click on Cancel to return
to LaunchPad.
Once a new language has been set, LaunchPad may be returned to English by repeating
this procedure and selecting English.
You may create user-defined GPS locations to identify the position of your user terminal rather than
use a city.
a. Select LaunchPad Services > Add GPS Location. The Manage user GPS location dialogue
box is displayed:
From here you can Add, Edit or Delete a user GPS location.
b. Click on Add to create a GPS location. The Add GPS location dialogue box is displayed:
If you want to link your location to an existing city, check Yes against the Link existing City:
prompt then select Existing City from the drop-down list. The GPS coordinates of your chosen
city will be automatically entered in the Latitude and Longitude text boxes.
If you do not want to link your location to an existing city, check No against the Link existing
City: prompt then manually enter the GPS coordinates of your location in the Latitude and
Longitude text boxes.
d. Click on OK to save the details of your user GPS location. The next time you open the world
map (select the Tools icon) the location will be available for selection from the drop-down list.
This User Guide is available within LaunchPad by selecting Help > LaunchPad Help.
In addition, LaunchPad provides in-context help. Whenever a Help button is available on a screen
or dialogue box, clicking Help will take you directly to the part of the Help File which deals with that
topic. From that point, you can navigate throughout the entire document.
To close Inmarsat LaunchPad, select File > Exit LaunchPad or select from the banner.
You are prompted to confirm the close down.
This section explains how to use LaunchPad to open and close an IP data connection.
It also explains how to use streaming IP connections.
The standard IP data connection is the connection that is best suited to most basic data
requirements, for example web browsing and sending and receiving emails.
Standard IP is charged by the amount of data sent and received and is a best-effort connection.
This means that the quality of service and priority given to data is not guaranteed and is dependent
on the current network traffic load.
You may configure LaunchPad to automatically open a standard IP data connection after
registration (see Setting/Unsetting the standard IP data connection to open automatically on
page 15).
The Connect icon changes to Disconnect and the Status panel is updated to show Standard
Data connection open. Ready for Phone, Text and Data.
You are now ready to open a web browser, read and send emails, read and send text messages
and perform other basic data functions.
Streaming IP data connections are optimised for use with time-critical applications such as audio
and video. There are a number of pre-configured streaming IP data connections supplied with
LaunchPad which you can open as an alternative to the standard IP data connection.
Note: The streaming IP data connections are charged by the length of time they are open rather
than the amount of data transferred. Therefore only use this connection type when needed
for audio or video data transfer.
Streaming connections are available at one of the following guaranteed data rates:
• 128 kbps (shown as Connect 128 Streaming). This connection is not available on
all terminals.
• 176 kbps (shown as Connect 176 Streaming). This connection is only available on the
Hughes 9201 and Thrane & Thrane Explorer 700 terminals.
• 256 kbps (shown as Connect 256 Streaming). This connection is not available on
all terminals.
• 384 kbps (minimum) up to approximately 450 kbps (shown as Connect BGAN X-Stream).
This connection is only available on Hughes 9201 and Thrane Explorer 700 terminals.
The Connection Control panel is opened showing the standard IP data connection and all
available streaming connections:
Note: Depending on what services your terminal supports, you may, or may not be able to see
all available connections on one screen. If there are additional connections available, as
in the example above, right and left arrows will appear so that you may scroll sideways.
b. From the Connection control panel, click on the required streaming IP data connection icon
eg Connect 64 Streaming.
c. A message is displayed, informing you that the connection will be charged by time rather than
volume. Click on Yes.
After successful connection, the Connect icon changes to 64 Disconnect and the requested
streaming calls connection now displays as Disconnect 64 Streaming.
b. Check Automatically open a standard Data connection after network registration to enable
automatic connection or uncheck the box to disable automatic connection.
The standard IP connection will be opened automatically after network registration if the above box
is checked, without you needing to open LaunchPad and click on Connect. Otherwise it will need
to be opened manually as detailed in Opening a standard IP data connection on page 12.
Note: There is a minimum charge when an IP data connection is opened (unless you are using
a lease package). Data may be transferred across the connection even if you are not
actively using an application (for example, your computer may be receiving automatic
updates). If you do not want to have data transferred across the connection, Inmarsat
recommends that you do not switch on automatic connection using LaunchPad, or that
you close the data connection when you are not using it.
When LaunchPad is opened for the first time, standard IP data is the default data connection. The
default can be changed to any data connection type associated with your model and subscription:
e. Select default. The selected data connection becomes the default connection and the
Connect icon updates to 32 Connect:
• Check Close all Data connections for all users and click on OK, which will close
every open data connection on the terminal.
• Check Close all my Data connections and click on OK, which only closes the
connections that you opened.
You can view information on open data connections from the Data tab. To do this:
a. Click on the Data icon:
The Connection control panel is displayed with the data connections available with your
terminal model:
c. The displayed details include the Name of the connection, Owner, connection Service type
and APN.
• Move left and Move right – To move an icon so that it displays in a different position in the
connection control window.
Note: If you want to move an icon more then one place to the right or left, you must select
the icon each time before using the arrow keys.
• Edit – To edit any aspect of the selected data connection. The Primary Connection
screen is displayed: See Creating a new primary connection on page 51 for details of
each parameter.
• Remove – To delete an icon. Click on Yes to confirm the deletion.
• Add new connection – To add a new standard or streaming data connection. See
Creating a new primary connection on page 51.
TCP Accelerator enhances the performance of TCP over a satellite network such as the Inmarsat
network by providing:
• Fast start - useful for transferring small amounts of data, since traditional TCP is often slow with
smaller data transfers.
• Increased window size - improves TCP performance in larger bandwidth applications.
• Delay based congestion control – ensures high transfer rates and less delay.
TCP accelerator can be used on standard IP or streaming data connections and will enhance
the performance of BGAN when your computer is sending data from TCP applications only.
Streaming-based applications such as video and audio streaming are not enhanced by TCP
Accelerator because these are UDP (User Datagram Protocol) based applications.
• Email.
• Web browsing.
• Webmail.
• VPN with Checkpoint, Nortel, Cisco and Netscreen. Other VPN applications may work but they
have not been tested by Inmarsat.
TCP Accelerator is free software that is supplied on your product CD and can also be downloaded
using the Update option in LaunchPad (see Updating software on page 45), or downloaded from
the Inmarsat web site at www.inmarsat.com/support. Follow the on-screen instructions to install
TCP Accelerator.
After initial installation, TCP Accelerator versions lower than 2.0 are disabled. You can only switch
TCP Accelerator on after the terminal is registered with the network. TCP Accelerator version 2.0
and onwards is automatically enabled and activated in LaunchPad.
For TCP Accelerator versions lower than 2.0, perform the following after you have registered with
the network:
a. Select LaunchPad Services > TCP Accelerator. The following screen is displayed:
b. Select ON from the TCP Accelerator State drop-down list to enable TCP Accelerator, then
click on Apply. If the settings have been successfully changed the following screen will display:
To turn TCP Accelerator off, repeat step a. then select OFF from the TCP Accelerator State
drop-down list.
Using Inmarsat LaunchPad, you can view the call history of missed, dialled and received calls.
Note: Depending on your terminal type, you can also set up and edit a number of supplementary
phone services using LaunchPad. These include services such as call barring, call waiting,
call forwarding and so on. Refer to the document Using LaunchPad on the <terminal
name> (where <terminal name> is the type of the terminal you have purchased), available
for download from www.inmarsat.com/support.
12 Call log
Call logs can be opened and managed from the Call Log tab. To open the Call Log, click on the
Call Log icon:
The Call Log panel opens, initially displaying all Missed calls.
To view the missed calls history, click on Missed in the Call Log panel. A window similar to the
following is displayed, showing the telephone number if the contact is not in your contacts list, or
the contact name if it is, together with the date and time of the call:
• Add contact: Click on the details to be added to your contacts list then click on Add
contact. The following dialogue box is displayed:
The Number is already added to the contact details. Enter Name of the contact and
select Storage (All, SIM or Terminal) from the Storage drop-down list, then click on Save.
• Clear list: (function not available on all models). This function will clear the list of missed
calls from LaunchPad.
Note: There is no prompt to confirm that you wish to clear the list.
• Export list: opens the operating system Save function and saves a .csv file into a folder
of your choice on your PC.
To view the dialled call history, click on Dialled in the Call Log panel. A window similar to the
following is displayed, showing the telephone number if the contact is not in your contacts list
or the contact name if it is, together with the date and time of the call:
This screen has the same additional functionality (Add contact, Clear list, Export list
and Advanced) as described in Missed above.
This screen has the same additional functionality (Add contact, Clear list, Export list
and Advanced) as described in Missed above.
You can use LaunchPad to set up phone settings such as call forwarding and call barring.
Each of the available options are described in the following sections.
a. Select LaunchPad services > Telephony Settings (or click on Advanced in the Call Log
window). The Telephony Settings window is displayed.
b. Select the Telephone numbers tab. A window similar to the following is displayed:
The voice and data numbers available to you are displayed in the Telephone numbers tab.
a. Select LaunchPad services > Telephony Settings (or click on Advanced in the Call Log
window). The Telephony Settings window is displayed.
d. In the Barring PIN text box, enter the PIN supplied by your Service Provider.
e. Check any box if you want to activate a call barring service. If you choose Cancel all call
barring, no other services are available to you. You must uncheck this box again to have
access to the other services.
f. If required, click on Current Values to display the current network settings for this service.
g. Click on Apply to save the displayed configuration, or click on Cancel to exit without saving.
a. Select LaunchPad services > Telephony Settings (or click on Advanced in the Phone
window). The Telephony Settings window is displayed.
c. From the drop-down list, select the service on which you want to set up call forwarding:
Data, Voice, SMS or Fax.
d. Check Disable or Enable for each call forwarding option as required. If you enable a call
forwarding option, enter the number of the telephone to which you want to forward the call in the
text box alongside your selection. If you check Divert if not answered, enter the amount of time
you want the phone to ring unanswered before the call is diverted (options are between 5 and 30
seconds in increments of 5 seconds), in the Seconds unanswered text box.
e. If required, click on Current Values to display the current network settings for this service.
f. Click on Apply to save the displayed configuration, or click on Cancel to exit without saving.
a. Select LaunchPad services > Telephony Settings (or click on Advanced in the Call Log
window). The Telephony Settings window displays.
b. Select the Caller ID tab. The following window is displayed:
c. Check Allow called party to see your number if you want to allow the caller to see
your number.
e. Check Show alert with calling party number for incoming calls if you want to see the number
of an incoming caller.
f. If required, click on Current Values to display the current network settings for this service.
g. Click on Apply to save the displayed configuration, and select another Telephony settings tab,
click on Save to save the displayed configuration and exit the Telephony settings screen, or
click on Cancel to exit without saving.
a. Select LaunchPad services > Telephony Settings (or click on Advanced in the Phone
window). The Telephony Settings window is displayed.
c. Check Enable call waiting to activate call waiting, or uncheck to turn Call waiting off.
h. If required, click on Current values to display the current network settings for this service.
i. Click on Apply to save the displayed configuration and select another Telephony settings tab,
click on Save to save the displayed configuration and exit the Telephony settings screen, or
click on Cancel to exit without saving.
You can also set the default call quality for the analogue interface and any Bluetooth interface
using the Incoming Calls tab.
a. Select LaunchPad Services > Telephony Settings (or click on Advanced in the Phone
window). The Telephony Settings window displays.
b. Select the Incoming Calls tab. A window similar to the following is displayed, depending
on the functionality of your terminal:
d. If required, click on Current values to display the current network settings for this service.
e. Click on Apply to save the settings and continue editing the Telephony Settings screen,
click on Save to save the settings and close the screen down, or click on Cancel to exit
without saving.
a. Select LaunchPad Services > Telephony Settings (or click on Advanced in the Phone
window). The Telephony Settings screen is displayed.
c. Check either Make outgoing calls using Standard Quality or Make outgoing calls using
Premium Quality.
d. If required, click on Current values to display the current network settings for this service.
e. Click on Apply to save the settings and continue editing the Telephony Settings screen,
click on Save to save the settings and close the screen down, or click on Cancel to exit
without saving.
You can use LaunchPad to read, reply, forward, write and send text messages. You can send text
messages from one terminal to another and from a user terminal to a mobile phone. You can also
send text messages from a mobile phone to a user terminal, but only on those networks with which
Inmarsat has an agreement.
Note: You do not have to have a data connection open to use text messaging but you must be
registered with the Inmarsat network.
• Reply to the message. Click on Reply. The sender’s name is displayed in the To field
of the Compose new message panel. Write the text of your reply (up to 160 characters)
below and click on Send.
• Forward the message. Click on Forward. The text of the message is displayed in the
Compose new message panel. Select the recipient(s) of the message in the To field and
click on Send.
i. Right click on the contact details you want to save to your Contacts then click
on Save Contact.
ii. The Add Contact dialogue box is displayed with the Number automatically filled in.
Type in the Name of your contact and select All, SIM or Terminal from the Storage
drop-down list.
b. In the Compose new message panel, complete the To field with the contact number of the
recipient. You can do this in two ways:
• By typing in the number in full, or
• By clicking on to access your Contacts list. Click on the number required and then
click on OK.
c. Add the message text to the area below the To field.
Note: text messages have a limited size of 160 characters. A character Count is included in
the top right hand corner of the Compose new message panel for your assistance.
d. Click on Send to send the message. The message is saved in the Sent folder.
Alternatively, you can click on Save to save the message in the Draft folder to send later, or click
on New to start again.
If you exit Text without sending or saving your message, LaunchPad will offer to save your
message to the Draft folder.
Select LaunchPad services > Text settings. The Configure Text screen is displayed:
• Select Service Centres – The service centre is the network device that distributes text
messages. If you are unable to send text messages, check that the service centre is
set correctly.
• Set up the Default Message Options – These include the Validity and Class of the message.
To select the currently active service centre select the required service centre from the Current
service centre drop-down list.
To add, edit or delete a service centre number:
a. Click on Manage service centre address. The Service Centre Address dialog box
is displayed:
• Click on Add to display the Add New Service Centre dialog box. Type in the address and
operator name and click on Add. Only add a new service centre if advised to do so by your
Service Provider.
• Select an address from the list and click on Edit to edit a service centre address. Click on
Change to save the new address. Do not edit the default address.
• Select an address from the list and click on Delete to delete an address. You will be
prompted to confirm the deletion. Do not delete the default address.
a. Select a message validity period from the Validity drop-down box. If the text message has not
been delivered within the set time, the message is deleted. The available options are: 1 hour,
6 hours, 1 day, 1 week, or maximum.
b. Select a message class from the Class drop-down list. This controls how the message is
displayed. The available options are: On recipient phone screen, In recipient phone
memory, In recipient SIM memory, or Use default mode.
• Use same centre for reply. This ensures that the service centre displayed in the
Current service centre drop-down list is used for the reply to a message.
• Request status report. This displays a status report when the text message is delivered.
• Send unicode message. This enables the use of unicode characters in a message.
• Add signature. To add a signature to your text messages, type the text of the signature
in the Specify signature text box.
Note: The signature is included in the maximum 160 characters allowed.
The Contacts tab enables you to manage your Call Log and Text contacts. You can add a new
contact, edit a contact or delete a contact. In addition, you can export a contact to a file on your
computer, or import a contact from a file on your computer.
c. Press the tab key to move the cursor into the Number field.
d. Type in the number of the contact you want to add, then click on Save.
Click on the contact and click on Delete. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.
16.4 Exporting a contact
You can export a contact or contacts to a file on your computer, or to a contacts list on your SIM
or terminal. To do this:
a. Click on the contact(s) to be exported and click on Export. The Choose Export Type dialog
box is displayed:
b. You can elect to export the selected contacts to a file on your computer and/or the contacts list
on your SIM or terminal.
• Check File to export the contact to a file on your computer, then click on Continue.
The operating system’s Save dialog box is displayed.
• Check One of the BGAN contacts list to save your contact(s) to the SIM or terminal and
then click Continue. The Select Address Book dialogue box is displayed:
You can display the current terminal and interface details from LaunchPad and do the following:
• Change the terminal and interface that you are connected to.
• Change the interface that you are connected to on the current terminal.
• Connect manually to an interface using your terminal’s IP address or serial port details.
The current terminal and interface details are displayed. (The above example shows a Hughes
9201 terminal connected over Ethernet. The terminal type and interface type shown will depend
on the particular terminal and interface you are using).
b. If you want to connect to a different terminal, choose the required terminal and interface from
the drop-down list and click on Search. LaunchPad searches for the required terminal and
interface and, if found, connects your computer.
b. To connect to a different interface, select the required interface from the drop-down list and
click on Search. LaunchPad searches for the required interface and, if found, connects to
your computer.
Note: The options available to you depend on the terminal you are using.
c. Either:
• Click on LAN Interface and enter the required IP address and Port address, or
• Click on Serial/COM port and enter the COM Port number.
d. Click on OK to save the displayed information, or click on Cancel to exit without saving.
Depending on your BGAN model, you may be able configure the terminal to bypass the pointing
procedure and register automatically with the Inmarsat network after the terminal is powered on.
You can only use this feature if the terminal has a valid GPS fix, ie if you have not moved location
since you last registered or if the terminal is in a fixed position.
To enable automatic registration:
a. Select Terminal > AutoStart mode. The Configure Auto-Start screen is displayed:
b. Check Automatically register with the network after BGAN terminal switches on and then
click on OK.
An Access Point Name (APN) identifies the external network that is accessible from the BGAN
terminal and defines how you access that network. By default, the SIM card in your terminal is
configured with the APN of your Service Provider. You can configure further APNs if you have
arranged with your service provider to use more than one SIM card, or to use your SIM card on
several APNs. To view the currently active APN, do the following:
Select LaunchPad services > LaunchPad APN Options. The following screen is displayed:
This screen shows the current default APN. The default APN is the APN stored on the SIM card.
A Username and Password can be associated with each APN. See Security on page 41.
20 Security
e. Re-enter the new PIN or Password in the Confirm PIN/Password text area.
f. Click on OK to save the changes.
a. Select Terminal > Require PINs. The Require PIN dialog box is displayed:
b. From the Select PIN drop-down list, select the facility for which you want to enable or disable
the PIN.
c. Check Enable to enable the PIN, or check Disable to disable the PIN. Before you can disable
the PIN, you must enter the current PIN in the Enable PIN tick box.
d. Click on OK to save the changes and exit, or click on Cancel to exit without saving
the changes.
a. Select LaunchPad Services > LaunchPad APN Options. The APN Configuration screen
is displayed:
c. Click on Add and then enter the Username, Password and Confirm Password.
Once LaunchPad has been launched and associated with a terminal, you can use LaunchPad
to check for the availability of software updates and choose which software updates you want
to install. Software updates available from LaunchPad include:
• LaunchPad software.
• Terminal software (firmware and drivers) for the terminal type associated with LaunchPad.
You can set the types of upgrade you want LaunchPad to check for and how you want to check.
To do this:
a. Select Update > Check for Updates. The Check for updates screen is displayed:
b. From this screen you can select the types of software you want to check for by checking the box
next to the software type, then click on Check for updates now.
This screen shows the product type, current version, file size and whether the software has
been downloaded and installed. Before downloading or installing new software, release notes
for the update are displayed in the text area at the bottom.
Note: If TCP Accelerator software has not been installed, Version is set to 0.0.
b. Check the software type(s) for which you want to receive release notes, downloads
or installations.
c. To update to the listed version, click on Download now if the software has not already been
downloaded, followed by Install now.
You can access off-line support and your Service Provider’s on-line support information by clicking
the Support icon (the Support icon you see may be different, depending on your service provider):
24 Viewing diagnostics
Software tools are provided with LaunchPad to help you maximise your use of the Inmarsat service.
To access these tools, click on the Tools icon:
A screen similar to the following screen is displayed, depending on the available tools:
At the time of publication, Inmarsat Coverage and eFax are the only tools supplied by default
with LaunchPad.
For details on using Inmarsat Coverage, see Pointing and registering with the network on page 7.
For details on using eFax, refer to the document Using eFax over FleetBroadband, available for
download from the Inmarsat web site at www.inmarsat.com/support. Click on FleetBroadband,
then click on User guides.
You may need to refer to LaunchPad’s log files if requested by support personnel.
Select File then select:
• LaunchPad Network log - reports network activity-related information, such as network usage,
QoS information and unsolicited alerts reported by the network.
• LaunchPad Event log - reports details of all command and responses exchanged between
LaunchPad and the terminal.
• LaunchPad Debug log – report status and error messages which can later be used
in debugging.
• LaunchPad Terminal log file - generated by the terminal and can be accessed
from LaunchPad.
A screen similar to the following is displayed (Event Log is shown as an example):
• Click on Display to display the log file details. To do this, select the log file you want to display
from the drop-down list, then click on Display. The details display in a separate window:
• Delete the displayed log file – Select a log file from the drop-down list and click on Delete.
• Save a log file to a file on your computer, for later reference – Select a log file from the
drop-down list, click on Save, then navigate to the save location.
• Print a log file – Select a log file from the drop-down list and click on Print. Select a printer
from the displayed print dialog box.
• Email a log file to, for example, support personnel – Select a log file from the drop-down list and
click on Email. Complete the email details in the email template displayed.
You can view the telephony and ISDN usage (by time) by selecting Terminal > Usage from the file
menu. The Usage panel displays information for your terminal since it was last reset:
Note: Usage information is provided for guidance only and may differ from that used by
your Service Provider for billing purposes.
If required, you can set up one or more additional standard or streaming IP data connections eg. to
add a new data connection icon if your choice of LaunchPad installation has not configured this
for you.
d. Type in a name for the primary connection in the Icon label text box. The name and icon
combination will be displayed when you open the Data tab in LaunchPad.
f. For Streaming or X-Stream select the speed from the Desired Rate drop-down list in the
Streaming Parameters dialog box.
g. Check Use error correction to turn on error correction or leave blank to keep it turned off.
Note: Error correction is turned on by default on standard IP data connections because TCP
applications have re-transmission built-in.
Note: Error correction is turned on by default off by default on streaming IP data connections
because UDP applications do not require re-transmission.
h. By default, BGAN.INMARSAT.COM is configured for routing, however you may select an
alternative APN from the Select APN drop-down list if one has been pre-configured.
i. By default, IP Configuration is set to use dynamic (ie network-assigned) IP addresses and DNS
servers. However either setting may be changed to static:
- Check the Use Static IP Address box and enter the IP address
- Check the Use Static DNS Server box and complete the Primary and Secondary
DNS Server information.
j. Click on Apply to save the configuration. Confirmation is provided that a new primary
connection icon has been created.
k. Click on OK, then either click on Close to return to LaunchPad or repeat steps c. through k. to
create further primary connections.
You can set up one or more dedicated streaming IP data connections for applications such as
Streambox, WinMedia and QuickTime Media. A dedicated IP data connection ensures that a
selected application does not have to share the connection with any other traffic. In addition, you
can open more than one dedicated streaming IP connection at a time, if required. The standard IP
connection or one of the pre-configured streaming IP connections must be open before you can
open a dedicated streaming IP connection. This is because the dedicated streaming IP connection
shares the APN and routing information of the open standard IP or streaming IP connection.
LaunchPad displays an information note if you are about to open a dedicated streaming
IP connection.
d. Click on the icon you want to use for this application. The chosen icon is then displayed in the
box next to the Icon label text box.
e. Type in a name for the connection in the Icon label text box. The name and icon that you select
here will be displayed when you open the Connect tab in LaunchPad.
f. Select the application you want to associate with this icon and icon label from the Application
Traffic Flow Template check box. The traffic flow template ensures that only traffic associated
with the application can use this dedicated connection.
Note: LaunchPad supports a number of pre-configured Traffic Flow Templates (TFTs), any
one of which can be selected when you configure a dedicated streaming connection to
ensure that the defined traffic has its own dedicated connection.
If you want to define your own TFT for another application, contact your service provider
for assistance.
WinMedia has been used as the Icon label and TFT in this example.
h. Check Use error correction to turn on error correction or leave blank to keep it turned off.
Note: Error correction is turned on by default on standard IP data connections because TCP
applications have re-transmission built-in.
Note: Error correction is turned on by default off by default on streaming IP data connections
because UDP applications do not require re-transmission.
i. Click on Apply to save the displayed configuration and exit the configuration screen, or click on
Cancel to edit without saving. Confirmation is provided that a new dedicated icon has
been created.
Repeat steps c. through i. to add further dedicated IP data connections. You can configure as
many dedicated IP data connections as you require or click on Close to return to LaunchPad.
Your new dedicated streaming connection will be available in the Connection Control panel the
next time you click on Data, positioned to the far right of existing icons. To move the connection
to a preferred position within the panel, see Managing data connections on page 18.
The newly-created dedicated streaming IP data connection (in this example WinMedia) has
been added to the list of available connections on the far right hand side. It may be necessary
to click on the right arrow to reveal Connect WinMedia:
c. Click on the required dedicated streaming IP data connection. The following screen
is displayed:
d. Click on OK.
Only the application associated with the dedicated IP data connection uses this connection.
All other traffic uses the standard IP data connection.
Note: Dedicated streaming IP data connections are normally charged by the length of time they
are open rather than the amount of data transferred. Therefore only use this connection
type when needed for audio or video data transfer.
Note: If required, you can open more than one dedicated streaming IP data connection at the
same time.
If your Distribution Partner or Service Provider has supplied you with DNS server settings, you can
enter these into LaunchPad. To do this:
a. Select Terminal > IP Configuration. The Configure Local LAN dialog box is displayed:
b. Type in a Primary Address for the DNS Server, as supplied by your Distribution Partner or
Service Provider. The DNS Server matches a website address (such as www.inmarsat.com)
with its corresponding IP address, so that you do not have to enter an IP address to access
Web data.
Note: The DNS server address for the default Inmarsat APN is 172.30.66.7.
c. If required, type in a Secondary Address for another DNS Server. This gives you the option of
using a backup server.
d. Click on Apply, then click on OK to save the changes, or click on Cancel to exit without saving.
This section provides some basic troubleshooting information. For more detailed troubleshooting,
refer to the Troubleshooting solutions guide, available for download from
www.inmarsat.com/support.
There are several reasons why you might not be successful in opening a data connection when you
double-click on a connection icon. When this happens, an error message is displayed:
Make a note of the error code (CME_ number) given on the bottom line as this will be needed by
your service provider to diagnose the problem:
As indicated in Opening a standard IP data connection on page 12, LaunchPad displays all the
possible data connections that an individual terminal can support. However, it is your subscription
that determines which of the connections are available to you.
If you attempt to use a service for which you have not subscribed, you will receive an error
message similar to the following:
IERROR_1133 Requested service option not subscribed.
Make a note of the error number and contact your service provider to determine which connections
are associated with your subscription.
An Access Point Name (APN) identifies the external network that is accessible from a terminal.
By default, the SIM card in your terminal is configured with the APN of your Service Provider and
the terminal reads this information from the SIM card. Your SIM card needs to be provisioned to
use the APN.
To check the APN configuration of your SIM card and data connection:
a. Select LaunchPad services > LaunchPad APN options. The APN Configuration screen
is displayed:
This screen shows the APN stored on the SIM in the Current default APN field. Make a note
of this APN, then click on Cancel.
c. Make sure that the data connection you want to check is not active, then right-click on the icon
of the data connection you are trying to open. A sub-menu is displayed:
The Primary Connection window is displayed (the following is the configuration window for the
Connect 32 Streaming data connection):
e. Verify the APN listed in the Select APN drop-down list. If it is not the same as the APN
you noted in step a. select the correct APN and try to open the data connection again.
If this action is not successful, contact your service provider to check your subscription.
Note: You may have to repeat steps b. to e. for each data connection you want to open.
If your data connection is running slower than expected, try using TCP Accelerator. TCP
Accelerator is a free software download that enhances the performance of TCP over the Inmarsat
network by ensuring high transfer rates and less delay. See Using TCP Accelerator on page 19.
You can reset all the configuration settings of some terminals to the factory defaults if your model
has this function and if you have the required access privileges. Note that your current settings are
lost during the reset.
To reset the terminal to factory default:
a. Select Terminal > Reset to Factory Defaults. The Reset to Factory Default dialog box
is displayed:
This section describes installation of the latest Inmarsat LaunchPad Version onto a Microsoft
Windows operating system. The procedure for other Microsoft operating systems is similar,
however individual screen displays may be slightly different. The procedure for installing
LaunchPad onto a MAC OS X is provided in chapter 35.
The latest version of LaunchPad Version can be downloaded from the Inmarsat Web site at
www.inmarsat.com/support.
LaunchPad for Windows requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to be resident on your
computer. The download process checks for the availability of the JRE on your computer and if it
does not exist, prompts you to download a copy.
34.1 Installation
This section describes the various screens that appear during the installation process using
LaunchPad Installer.
• If the application does not find the JRE, the following dialog box is displayed:
• Click on Download and continue the installation process as described in Run time download
of JRE on page 66.
• If you do not want to download the JRE but prefer to use another version of JRE present on
your PC, click on Locate and provide the path to Java.exe file. Go to Locate already-
installed JRE on page 66.
The installer downloads the JRE from a pre-defined server location. A screen similar to the
following is displayed. You may abort the download process any time during download by
clicking on Cancel.
Installation continues with Installing the JRE and application on page 66.
If you directed the installer to use an already-installed JRE, a Windows browser is opened
and you need to locate the JRE file from your local hard disk and click on Open.
Once the JRE is completely downloaded, the installer initiates the installation of the application
and JRE.
The following icon will be created on your desktop. When you are ready to open LaunchPad,
double click on the icon:
Inmarsat
LaunchPad
31.1.12 Installing
An interim screen displays the progress of LaunchPad installation. No action is necessary unless
you wish to abort installation, in which case click on Cancel.
LaunchPad installation is complete when the following screen is displayed. The Run Inmarsat
LaunchPad box is automatically checked and the application will be loaded when you click
on Finish.
LaunchPad can be un-installed from your computer using the following process.
a. Select Start > All Programs > Inmarsat LaunchPad > Inmarsat LaunchPad Uninstaller.
The following screen is displayed:
The application is removed from your computer together with the desktop icon and shortcut.
Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is required for LaunchPad operation, however this application
should already be resident in the Macintosh operating system.
The latest version of Inmarsat LaunchPad can be downloaded from the Inmarsat Web site at
www.inmarsat.com/support.
32.1.1 User Authentication
The LaunchPad installer requires the user to be a member of the Administrator group. Log into
the MAC as a user with root privileges before you start the installation process.
Note: If you select Corporate Edition, you will be prompted to enter a user name and
password when you start up LaunchPad.
32.1.6 Summary
Inmarsat LaunchPad Installer summarises the information provided. Click on Next to continue.
Click on Finish.
LaunchPad can be un-installed from your computer using the following process.
b. Select Macintosh HD > Inmarsat LaunchPad Uninstaller. The following screen is displayed:
Click on Finish.
The application is removed from your computer together with the desktop icon and shortcut.