Inmarsat Premieres GX Aviation Equipment at Aircraft Interiors Expo

Inmarsat is hosting the world’s first preview of the avionics designed to support the company’s GX Aviation service for the aviation sector at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg (9-11 April).

GX Aviation is an high-speed global broadband service, delivered via Ka-band, and will be supported by a new suite of avionics designed and manufactured by Honeywell.

Commercial availability of the avionics for GX Aviation is planned for early 2015, and all GX Aviation avionics will be fully compliant with the A791 industry standard, and intended for forward-fit and retro-fit installation from launch.

Miranda Mills, Inmarsat’s Vice President of Aerospace, said, “GX Aviation is going to change the face of inflight connectivity and the Aircraft Interiors Expo provides us with the perfect opportunity to reveal the avionics for the very first time. With our fleet of three satellites under construction by Boeing, and the first scheduled for launch this year, avionics represent the final segment which turns Global Xpress from a concept into a reality, which visitors to the stand can touch and feel.”

The GX Aviation service has been designed to offer consistent, high capacity broadband coverage with throughputs of up to 50Mbps around the world. This will enable airlines to offer their passengers access to the level of broadband speeds, data rates and bandwidth they are used to receiving on the ground, allowing them to stream live internet content and take part in video calls, even when they are flying across an ocean at 30,000 feet.

“The world is changing and airlines are seeking to keep up with passengers’ expectations. Our new GX service, which can be combined with our existing L-band solution, enables airlines to capitalise on already installed hardware to provide high speed broadband service with complete geographical coverage for all aircraft requirements, both in the cockpit and the cabin,” Miranda added.

Jack Jacobs, Vice President of Marketing Product and Management at Honeywell said, “The consumer demand for fast, global inflight connectivity continues to grow at a monumental rate. People want to be connected no matter where they are and have the same internet experience that they have at home. Through GX Aviation Ka-band satellite connectivity, airlines will have more bandwidth, at a cost-effective price that provides consumers with an unprecedented global connectivity experience.”