Leading global mobile satellite communication
services provider, Inmarsat, has announced the successful completion of its
Global Xpress ‘Around the World’ test flight.
The exercise, conducted on a Gulfstream IV
aircraft between June 5 and June 11, 2017, covered more than 25,000 miles and
demonstrated Global Xpress’ ability to deliver seamless, worldwide coverage
across multiple spot beams and satellites.
While government and business users have
historically had to manipulate flight plans to avoid gaps in coverage and
performance, the test flight enjoyed complete flexibility in route selection.
The flight route spanned the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, beginning in the
United States with stops in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates,
Thailand, Australia and Fiji.
A Global
Xpress subscription-based data plan was configured for
the Honeywell aero Tail Mount Antenna (TMA), with a
committed information rate of 4Mbps forward and 1Mbps
return but capable of 15Mbps or more. Uniform coverage
and service was delivered to the aircraft as it moved
across 28 beams with handovers that went unnoticed by
users; and 3 satellite-to-satellite handovers that were
accomplished seamlessly.
The
terminal’s global plan enabled access to the Global
Xpress network worldwide without the need to
pre-coordinate and receive satellite-specific option
files. During the flight, Global Xpress supported
mission-critical voice, data and streaming applications
to include video teleconferencing, high-speed Internet
access and file transfer, VPN as well as phone calls,
and fully delivered or exceeded the committed
information rate. |
|
Inmarsat’s always-on worldwide capability for
VIP aircraft customers is part of the company’s global mobility-centric
strategy, unique in the market. Inmarsat has been supporting the demanding ‘go
anywhere, anytime’ nature of aviation operations for decades, and is the market
leader in providing a consistent, reliable L-band connectivity experience for
users around the world. Global Xpress continues Inmarsat’s commitment in this
arena.
Global Xpress is the first and only end-to-end
commercial Ka-band solution that delivers worldwide service. Inmarsat builds its
commercial satellite systems from the ground up with mobile users in mind,
thereby, augmenting military satellite resources cost effectively, for optimal
redundancy, diversity, protection, scalability and global portability – the
ultimate resilience approach. With four Inmarsat-5 geostationary high-capacity
satellites linked as one network, Global Xpress provides seamless,
high-throughput coverage. Global Xpress’ spot beam architecture ensures uniform
distribution of capacity, allowing for consistent, uninterrupted connectivity no
matter where the user is operating. Steerable antennas on each Global Xpress
satellite enable flexible augmentation of network capacity, as driven by user
demand.
Inmarsat offers Global Xpress as an end-to-end
managed subscription service - SATCOM as a Service - that enables access to an
always-on, worldwide network with 24/7 management, monitoring and support. With
no infrastructure charges or R&D investment on their part, customers travel from
one location to another, and simply ‘plug in’ to Global Xpress to get what they
need, where they need it, and when they need it.
“This Gulfstream IV ‘Around the World’ test
flight demonstrates Inmarsat’s ability to deliver reliable, seamless
next-generation wideband connectivity for aeronautical users,” said
Steve Gizinski,
Vice President of Special Programs, Inmarsat U.S. Government Business Unit.
“Highly mobile, bandwidth-hungry government and commercial users can now travel
the world and enjoy connectivity that allows them to conduct business as if they
were in the office … even while 40,000 feet in the air.” |