Inmarsat Advisory – 90-day Notice Period For Terminations #
This is intended to provide additional information and clarification on Inmarsat’s introduction of a 90-day notice period for L-band terminations.
1. When is Inmarsat introducing the 90-day notice period for terminations?
1st November 2020. It was initially planned for 2nd August, but this has now been postponed to the November date.
2. Which Inmarsat plans does the 90-day notice period apply to?
The majority of FleetBroadband, Fleet One, BGAN and GSPS plans will be subject to the 90-day notice period. There are a small number of plans which are excluded from the 90-day notice period, which are:
• Fleet One Leisure Plans
• IsatHub Standard Plan
• IsatPhone / Link (GSPS) Standard Plan
3. Will the notice period only apply to new customers / subscriptions?
No, the notice period will apply to both new activations and existing subscriptions from 1st November. Even if your current minimum contract term has passed, you will still be obliged to provide 90 days’ notice for termination of a plan under the new rules.
4. Are there any changes to Early Termination Fees (ETFs)
There is no change to the current ETF amounts and policies on L-Band products.
5. How will ETFs be calculated going forward?
Inmarsat will calculate any chargeable ETFs 90 days prior to service deactivation. Any subscription fees applied by Inmarsat during the 90-day notice period will count towards any ETF owed. The overall ETF may now be ‘paid for’ in a mixture of the notice period itself and then any further ETFs in addition (example given below). The notice period cannot be reduced or bypassed by way of an additional ETF payment.
Example: A FleetBroadband Plan with an initial commitment term of 24 months, which is activated on 01/01/2020 is terminated after 12 months on 31/12/2020.
• Plan is terminated within the initial commitment term
• Prior to these changes this plan would have terminated immediately with an ETF equal to 6 months subscription charges (6-month ETF cap on FB 24 month plans)
• With the 90-day notice policy in place, the subscription will run to 31/03/2021 before service deactivation occurs
• At this point an ETF equal to 3 months subscription charges will be applied
• 90-day notice period (subscription charges) + 3-month ETF = historical 6month ETF
6. Can I give more than 90 days’ notice to terminate my Inmarsat subscription?
Yes, Inmarsat systems allow future dating of deactivations. You can select any date to deactivate on, as long as it provides notice of 90 days or more. Any ETF will be calculated 90 days prior to the chosen deactivation date, in line with the answer to question 5.
7. If I have given notice to deactivate, can I change the date?
Yes, but in order to change the date, the original termination request must be cancelled and a new one submitted which will trigger a new 90-day notice period within Inmarsat systems. It is not possible to simply amend a date within the Inmarsat system.
Example: A customer wishes to deactivate a BGAN service and provides 90 days’ notice to terminate the plan which is submitted to Inmarsat’s system.
• The termination date with 90 days’ notice is set for 13.06.21.
• On 01.06.21 it becomes clear that service will be required until the end of June, so a request is made to change the date of deactivation.
• The existing deactivation request is cancelled and a new one submitted triggering the 90-day notice period again. The new termination date will be 29.08.21
8. Will the 90-day notice period apply to plans with a one-month commitment period (i.e. FleetBroadband Standard Plan)?
Yes, even plans with just a one-month minimum commitment will be subject to 90 days’ notice under the new policy. The only exceptions are covered under question 2.
9. Can I give my notice to terminate while the subscription is suspended?
No, a subscription will need to come out of its suspended state to submit notice to terminate. Similarly, you cannot suspend a subscription during the 90-day notice period.
10. Can additional orders or changes to subscriptions be made during the 90-day notice period?
No, the termination notice will need to be removed prior to allow any changes to be made.
If you need any more information please contact Apollo SatCom with any questions you may have.
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