Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Satway Pro (SATWAY Pro. The Reliable and Affordable Satellite Messaging Service.) Reporting period: 2017-02-01 to 2017-07-31 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project Every year, roughly 35 million humanitarian aid workers, international boaters, adventure travellers and corporate teams journey to remote parts of the world where there is no mobile phone (GSM) coverage. To stay connected with loved ones, professional colleagues, and rescue teams, most of these travellers use special satellite terminals – ‘satphones’. However, the most prevalent handheld satphones are limited because they offer only basic communication features and are mostly used only for emergencies communications, it is still difficult to use and costly. They do not match the needs of users to communicate nor the needs of their key contacts.We aim to bring to the market a unique, next generation satellite messaging service that keeps remote travellers connected to their loved ones and professional colleagues, reliably and affordably. “Satway Pro” is a mobile service that works with already existing satellite phones from the main satellite communication equipment providers. Our new service integrates two-way SMS, voice messaging and satellite geolocation with unique and useful features that will help people to communicate. Satway Pro is bringing great benefits to a growing number of users, their lives, work and businesses worldwide. The objectives of Satway Pro are to: • improve quality of life providing a fast, reliable communication service.• reduce communication costs by 50% • enable easy sharing of information between people and organizations Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far During the six months of February to July of 2017, we have worked closely with existing and newly identified stakeholder partners resulting in a thorough investigation of the European target markets for our new Satway Pro satellite communication product. We have tested the technical feasibility, economic and practical viability of our technology via back-end architecture improvements, independent usability testing, qualitative stakeholder interviews and over 200 completed questionnaires. We have also taken steps to further protect our technology and IP portfolio, setting the foundation for a sustainable competitive advantage. We have confirmed that there is strong market demand for Satway Pro identifying our primary target sectors. We have also established a clear go-to-market plan to reach these customers. We now have a detailed commercialisation plan, product roadmap, extensive partner network and first customer leads that will enable us to swiftly introduce Satway Pro in Europe. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) New technological solutions are transforming the way people live, work and interact on a global scale. Our daily lives are quickly adapting to the advances offered by telecommunications and they are becoming essential in private and social spheres, as well as in the economy and business. The “Satway Pro” idea was born from detected customers’ needs to communicate and our desire to create value-added services for users of mobile satellite technology. We strongly believe that we can offer a new form of communication using satellite technology that will help people to communicate in remote locations creating the reliable connections between GSM devices and mobile satellite phones. Growth in Mobile satellite communications is being driven by a strong rise in humanitarian aid efforts, maritime and adventure tourism, and corporate remote resource exploration and infrastructure projects.Satway Pro will have positive implications in very different domains from interpersonal communications to peoples’ safety in emergency situations, from humanitarian assistance to scientific research. Logo Verasat Logo Satway Pro
