By
Alex Smith |
Mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat has introduced its newest geostationary satellite to commercial service. GX5 was launched in November 2019 and will double the capacity of the entire existing fleet for the company’s Fleet Xpress broadband service for the maritime industry in Europe and the Middle East.
Inmarsat has also expanded its ground station network and enhanced its cloud-based processing to supplement the global coverage of its network. The company is planning to launch another seven satellites by 2024, five of which will be in a geostationary orbit and add to the capacity and speed of the existing network. The remaining two will be placed in highly elliptical orbit, introducing the first commercial broadband service in the Arctic region.
“Inmarsat is investing more than ever before to deliver global, highly differentiated technology platforms on which partners and customers can securely invest and innovate for growth,” said Peter Hadinger, chief technology officer of Inmarsat. The company’s fully funded technology roadmap will lead to forthcoming launches for our sixth generation of satellites, the I-6s, then on to GX7, 8 and 9 and two Arctic payloads, GX10A and GX10B, to provide further impetus to our GX success story. Our partners and customers can confidently invest in long-term, transformational global digitalisation strategies based on Inmarsat’s innovative technology roadmap for the future.”
The services delivered over GX5 will be backwards compatible with existing GX terminals, enabling customers who have already invested in GX technology to be brought into the network.
“As the world leader in global mobile satellite communications, we have an ambitious vision for the future, and we are progressing the most innovative technology development programme in our history to achieve this,” said Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat. “We are in this for the long haul, with customer and partner trust based on four-decades of meeting our commitments and a bright future ahead, guided by our technology roadmap. Entry into service of GX5 is the first of several exciting steps ahead for us on that journey.”