Despite being just days away from receiving the final approval for its planned merger with Viasat, London-based Inmarsat has ordered up three new satellites. The new craft measure just 1.5 cubic metres (plus the solar arrays) and are about one-fifth of the size and weight of conventional geostationary satellites. They will form Inmarsat’s I-8 fleet. […]

London-based Inmarsat will be absorbed by Viasat of California in the near future. Meanwhile, the satellite telco has delivered its strongest revenue numbers in 44 years with improved results cross all its key divisions. Its Aviation segment jumping by more than one-third in Q1 and its Maritime division saw its ninth consecutive quarter-year of growth. […]

Inmarsat has appointed Raytheon Technologies’ Collins Aerospace business as the latest global distribution partner for its new SwiftJet inflight connectivity service. SwiftJet, which enters commercial service this year, will offer the fastest-ever speeds over L-band for the global business aviation market. The agreement marks an expansion of the companies’ long-standing partnership. Customers can now talk […]

Following a provisional clearance in March 2023, the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is now allowing the proposed merger of Viasat and Inmarsat to go ahead. Both Viasat and Inmarsat supply businesses globally with satellite connectivity that enables services such as the Internet, email, and video calling – including for use on aircraft. In […]

Aircraft and shipping were hit by problems with Inmarsat’s I-4 F1 satellite on April 17th. The satellite covers the Asia-Pacific region and is located at 143.5 degrees East and in particular covering the Australia and New Zealand regions. The problem is a “full […] extended outage” of services according to Inmarsat. The satellite, built by […]

Taiwan-based MediaTek and Inmarsat are joining forces on two-way satellite communications direct to smartphones, IOT devices and cars. The two have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Their collaboration builds upon proven MediaTek 5G NTN technology operating on Inmarsat’s existing ELERA L-band satellite network. The combined technology would allow smartphone manufacturers, mobile network operators and the […]

London-based Inmarsat reported revenue growth of 9 per cent for its 2022 trading year, to a total of $1.47 billion (€1.35bn). Inmarsat’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax and other charges) jumped by 15 per cent to $850 million in 2022, despite saying that chip-set and other component shortages affected the availability of satellite phones. Q4 […]

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally cleared the proposed merger between Viasat and Inmarsat following an in-depth review which revealed the business would likely face significant competition from both emerging and established players as the sector expands. While Viasat and Inmarsat compete closely, the merged company would be challenged by new competitor […]

California-based satellite operator Viasat has suffered a negative report from Quilty Analytics. The analysts point out to clients that Viasat has “dialled back” guidance for 2023, not helped by delays to the launch of the first of its latest trio of sophisticated satellites. Quilty says: “For the second consecutive quarter, shares of Viasat sold off […]

Inmarsat’s latest satellite (I-6 F2) is scheduled to launch on February 17th. SpaceX will handle the task, slated for 10:59pm Florida-time/03:59am UTC via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch is for Inmarsat’s latest 6th generation communications spacecraft to GEO. From lift off in Florida, the satellite will travel up and east across the Atlantic […]