Inmarsat5 F1 and F2. Photo: Inmarsat

[Via Satellite 01-15-2014] Inmarsat announced its enhanced maritime product roadmap consisting of two new services designed specifically for Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) network: Fleet Xpress and FleetBroadband Xtra.

Fleet Xpress is a hybrid solution, which will operate over the Global Xpress Ka-band network, and incorporate Inmarsat’s L-band FleetBroadband service as back-up, providing advanced connectivity services for maritime customers anywhere in the world. The solution will be available when GX commences global commercial services early in the second half of 2015. Fleet Xpress will be an Inmarsat managed service sold through the company’s GX Value Added Resellers (VARs).

To allow maritime customers to benefit from high-speed broadband connectivity between now and global commercial introduction of the GX network, Inmarsat has announced an additional service, FleetBroadband Xtra. This service will overlay capacity from the first Global Xpress satellite (Inmarsat 5 F1), which is already operational, in the Indian Ocean region, with the existing L-band connectivity. As the next two GX satellites are launched, covering the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean regions, FleetBroadband Xtra will expand to include the additional Ka-band capacity as each satellite enters commercial service. Once the I-5 F2 and I-5 F3 satellites are fully operational — expected to be early in the second half of 2015 — FleetBroadband Xtra will be phased out. All customers will have a transitional period as they migrate onto the Fleet Xpress service.