For Inmarsat BGAN data modems that are located in remote areas that are difficult to access, please note the following:
Remote restart
For occasional problems with the provision of the BGAN or BGAN M2M service, it should be possible to restart the device remotely. For these and other functions, a static public IP address, which is subject to a fee, is not yet necessary. So-called SMS commands can be sent via SMS to the phone number of the BGAN SIM card. It is important to note that the SMS function is not activated by default on Hughes 9502 and must be set up by the customer on the device by assigning a password. Or, in the case of the EXPLORER 540, it is activated b default but the password should be changed for security reasons. It makes sense to do both during a test phase before the modem is finally installed remotely.
Further information can be found in the manual and the documents on SMS commands on our Devices Support pages for Hughes 9502 and EXPLORER 540.
Background data
Any data traffic not initiated for actual purpose, such as sending logger or LIDAR data, should be avoided for cost reasons, e.g. recurring DNS or time requests, which are small amounts of data but can increase many times due to billing minimum increment.
The provider’s server can limit data forwarding via its firewall, but only once the data has already been transmitted via satellite to the terrestrial server and is therefore billed.
To prevent back ground or not intended data from being sent from the modem and to the satellite, consider following options:
- Install a remote router with firewall function on site with the modem.
- Limit data traffic on the modem. On Hughes 9502, this is not possible via graphical user interface, but only via AT commands using a Putty emulation or Telnet. Please note that AT commands (may) refer to the device model and even to the respective firmware version, see our Hughes Devices Support page. In the AT command “AT_IHFILTER,” a code must be entered in the protocol number parameter, the encoding of which can be found here.
In both cases, router or AT command, installating and testing of the function before deploying the devices is strongly recommended!
