Beam said the initial order follows a commitment by the Chinese entity to undertake a short trial deploying 200 Beam Oceana-400 and Oceana-800 marine communications terminals using the Inmarsat FleetPhone Service on fishing vessels in China. The trial will begin this month with the deployment of 100 Beam Oceana-400 terminals and 100 Beam Oceana-800 terminals.

   “The customer is a leading operator of satellite communication services in China with more than 20 years experience which provides a full range of sea, land and air mobile satellite terminals and technology integration services for Chinese users,” Beam said in a company statement. “This is a major breakthrough for Beam into the Chinese maritime market. We are delighted to be working with a key strategic partner in China, which further reinforces Beam’s position as a leading global provider of satellite communication solutions for both the Inmarsat and Iridium satellite networks.”