Viasat’s $7.3 billion attempt to acquire London-based Inmarsat has hit a potential problem following an “in-depth” investigation by the a European Commission (EC), which says it is “concerned that the transaction may allow Viasat to reduce competition in the market for the supply of broadband in-flight connectivity (IFC) services to commercial airlines”. The Viasat/Inmarsat deal, […]

For the past few years, London-based Inmarsat has planned to build its own low Earth orbiting mega-constellation, called ‘Orchestra’. It has now emerged that the scheme has probably been cancelled. Larry Paul, Inmarsat VP/corporate business development, speaking at the Smallsat Symposium in California, told delegates that Inmarsat had taken a hard look [at the concept] […]

Airbus Space & Defence has delivered Inmarsat’s next satellite to Kennedy Space Centre for its launch. The satellite manufacturer used one of its Airbus ‘Beluga’ super-large transport aircraft for the journey. Launch is due later in February by SpaceX. The second satellite of the Inmarsat-6 generation is based on Airbus’ ultra-reliable Eurostar E3000 spacecraft and […]

In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, Rajeev Suri, Inmarsat CEO, predicted that only a handful of satellite operators will succeed and survive over the next 7 to 10 years. He said that it takes billions to get satellites into space and the industry has already seen plenty of bankruptcies, noting: “The industry structure […]

Middle East airline Emirates has placed a major contract extension with Inmarsat for the satellite operator’s In-Flight Communications (IFC) broadband service. Emirates already uses Inmarsat but this new contract covers the airline’s 50 new Airbus A350 aircraft. They will enter service from 2024. The A350 aircraft will use Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network. Inmarsat’s […]

Eutelsat’s Inter-governmental organisation is the supervising segment of Eutelsat which ensures that the satellite operator maintains its legal and Treaty obligations with respect to member signatory states. It recently held its AGM. Eutelsat IGO ensures continuity of the rights to use radiofrequencies and orbital locations which were assigned collectively to the Member States and the […]

Inmarsat’s has reported its Q3 numbers with revenue up 7 per cent, and EBITDA up 17 per cent, compared to the same period last year. The high spot in its list of positive growth segments came from its In-Flight broadband and communications division which, while not the largest revenue earner, came in with 33 per […]

Rocket Lab USA, a launch and space systems company, has been selected by Inmarsat Government as partner to develop and manufacture an L-band radio in support of NASA’s Communications Services Project (CSP). CSP seeks to accelerate the development of commercial near-Earth communications services by partnering with satellite communications (satcom) providers. Rocket Lab will help enable […]

As part of Telstra’s growing satellite telecommunications portfolio and services, it has expanded ground stations in Perth and Merredin, Western Australia with additional antennas to support the revolutionary I-6 F1 satellite from Inmarsat. This builds on a partnership between the two companies in Australia dating back more than thirty years. Launched from the JAXA Tanegashima […]

Although the planned merger between satellite operators Viasat and Inmarsat faces the prospect of a lengthy competition probe in the UK, the pair have announced that the Australian Government’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has confirmed it has no objections to the planned combination of their businesses. FIRB’s clearance of Viasat’s proposed acquisition of Inmarsat […]