Inmarsat, a provider of global mobile satellite communications services, is investing
US$1.6 billion in the delivery of Global Xpress, which will create the world’s first
globally available, high-speed mobile broadband service, delivered through a single
network operator.
Inmarsat-5 F2 will provide superfast broadband Global Xpress or “GX’ services
covering the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean. The launch of Inmarsat-5 F2 (I-5 F2)
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan is set to take place at 12h31 (GMT)
on 1 February. Inmarsat’s fifth generation satellites – which form the GX network –
have all been built by Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc. in California. The
launch is being undertaken for Inmarsat by International Launch Services (ILS)
using a Proton launch vehicle.
Global Xpress will deliver broadband speeds more than 100 times faster than the
company’s fourth generation (I-4) constellation. It will offer new opportunities for
end-users, in both the public and private sectors, to significantly enhance their
connectivity and to access bandwidth-hungry applications, even in the remotest and
most inaccessible regions of the world.
Inmarsat is planning to commence global commercial GX services early in the
second half of the year. The new network, which complements Inmarsat’s existing
fleet of L-band communication satellites, will deliver seamless, superfast mobile
broadband services across the planet.
Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat said, “Through Global Xpress, the world can move
forward from the “Internet of Everything’ to the “Internet of Everywhere’, in which
high-speed, reliable and secure connectivity is available anywhere and at any time
– even in the most inaccessible regions – for customers on the move or to fixed
locations. We believe that our new global network will power innovation, support
economic development and help transform social services, from education to
healthcare, in regions not adequately served – or not served at all – by terrestrial
networks.’
Watch the Inmarsat Global Xpress video
