What was so good about INMARSAT?
INMARSAT was developed for ships. It is a separate world-wide system – a galaxy of satellites is the modern term – allowing ships to communicate around the world by this means. This was extended down to the ANARE stations back in the mid-eighties. The first installations was at Mawson in 1984, then Casey, Davis and Macquarie Island on the system the following year. It proved an immediate success. Now INMARSAT could do two things – it could transmit data using the keyboard, and people could also make telephone calls. That was the start of the satellite system. But it was expensive to use, about $10 a minute. INMARSAT remains at the stations today as a backup facility. Doug, you’ve really seen an incredible change in communications over the years. Yes, I’ve seen a few changes, from Morse to satellites, been through the whole spectrum!! What about the results of better communications – do you think that the loss of isolation that was so characteristic of the early days in the Antarctic is
