Inmarsat's GX Aviation is Now Available on More Than 550 Aircraft

Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, has just celebrated the fifth anniversary of GX Aviation, its most successful passenger inflight broadband service to date. Since entering commercial service in 2016, the award-winning solution has been selected by more than 35 airlines and activated on over 550 aircraft, with approximately 1,000 additional aircraft in the order book.

Powered by Global Xpress (GX), the world’s first and only globally available broadband network, GX Aviation has transformed the airline passenger experience, offering reliable, consistent and high-speed infight connectivity on par with mobile Wi-Fi on the ground. It unlocks a host of new ancillary revenue streams for airlines and ensures they meet rising expectations from passengers to stay connected, browse the internet, stream video and audio, enjoy social media, shop online and more while on a flight.

Millions of passengers have enjoyed access to GX Aviation over the years, with major airline customers including Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, AirAsia, Eurowings, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Philippine Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. This impressive list continues to grow, with installations underway or planned with existing and new customers, including SAUDIA, as announced at the Dubai Airshow last month.

This latest milestone for GX Aviation comes at a critical time for the aviation industry, with the pandemic having accelerated passenger demand for digital inflight experiences. Inmarsat’s 2021 Passenger Confidence Tracker, the largest and most comprehensive global survey of its kind since the pandemic began, found that digital solutions that keep passengers connected and minimise their contact with cabin crew and fellow passengers can go a long way in boosting confidence. In addition, out of the 10,000 respondents, 41% believed inflight Wi-Fi had further increased in importance after the pandemic.

The GX network currently consists of five Ka-band satellites and Inmarsat's technology roadmap will offer a number of major enhancements. Seven further satellites are set to launch by 2024, starting with the first Inmarsat-6, I-6 F1, in December 2021. This is the most sophisticated commercial communications satellite ever built and will be followed by four additional satellites in geostationary orbit - adding speed, capacity and resilience - and two in highly elliptical orbit, enabling the world’s only commercial mobile broadband service for aircraft flying in higher elevations and across the Arctic.

However, GX is more than just a global satellite network, it is a complete end-to-end solution and Inmarsat has been equally ambitious in developing its ground stations, hardware, software and cybersecurity framework. This includes a next-generation terminal developed with GDC Advanced Technology, featuring GDC’s dual modem manager (MODMAN), with components by Kontron, together with a proven, reliable and high-performance flat panel antenna by ThinKom. Following a range of technology assessments and test flights, the powerful new terminal has demonstrated its ability to deliver the highest levels of connectivity, even over the world’s busiest airspaces.