Inmarsat 5 F1 and Inmarsat 5 F2 in a Boeing facility. Photo: Inmarsat

[Via Satellite 10-07-2014] Inmarsat, in partnership with its Value Added Resellers, has started providing wideband communications capability to U.S. government customers through its Global Xpress service carried over the first Inmarsat 5 satellite. Using 72 fixed beams in commercial Ka-band, along with military Ka-band capacity available on its high-capacity steerable beams, Global Xpress is now supporting aeronautical and land terminal operations in the Indian Ocean Region with high-throughput connectivity.

The Inmarsat 5 military Ka-band steerable beam technology efficiently supports very high data rates and very small apertures. Additionally, the iDirect evolution-based Global Service Beam (GSB) performance met or exceeded data throughput available on older Ku-band services using satellite terminals of equal or smaller size.

Inmarsat 5 F1 achieved commercial service introduction (CSI) for U.S. Government users in the Indian Ocean Region coverage area on July 1, after successful launch and activation of the satellite and related redundant ground infrastructure. The service is currently supporting users across its footprint, including in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and southwestern Asia.