Advanced Television

Inmarsat rolls out EU in-flight broadband

June 6, 2014

Inmarsat, the mobile satellite services operator, has announced its decision to deploy an integrated telecommunications network to deliver aviation passenger connectivity services on a EU-wide basis.  To achieve this ambition, Inmarsat confirms its order for a new S-band satellite, to be called Europasat, and expects to complement this satellite with a fully integrated air-to-ground network across the EU.

Inmarsat’s new aviation network will deliver high speed broadband services to commercial and business aviation passengers. These capabilities will be offered alongside Inmarsat’s Global Xpress aviation services, extending Inmarsat’s service coverage for aviation passengers seamlessly across the rest of the globe, and placing Inmarsat in a leadership position in the global in-flight passenger connectivity market.  A market that is already both substantial and rapidly growing in North America and which offers exceptional growth potential globally.

Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat’s CEO commented, “North America has seen rapid take-up of in-flight passenger connectivity services, with installation and usage both growing very quickly.  The success of the Gogo air-to-ground network has already triggered the building of a second competing network by AT&T, one of the world’s largest telecommunications operators.  Independent research predicts that in-flight connectivity services will be a multi-billion dollar revenue sector by 2020.

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