The Inmarsat 5F1 satellite ready for launch aboard a Proton-M rocket. Photo: Inmarsat

[Via Satellite 02-04-2014] The Inmarsat 5F1 satellite, the first in its fleet of three Global Xpress (GX) satellites, has completed its orbital deployment stages on schedule. Inmarsat and manufacturing partner Boeing will now begin a month of payload testing to prepare for live end-to-end testing of the mobile broadband GX connectivity services scheduled for March.

The Inmarsat 5 F1 will offer high-throughput broadband services for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The satellite features 89 beams and sic steerable high-power spot beams that will allow Inmarsat to increase capacity based on customer demand.

Inmarsat has invested $1.6 billion in the GX program, which is on course to achieve full global coverage by the end of 2014. The satellites will be able to deliver download speeds of 50 Mbps to users on land, at sea or in the air.

The next two Inmarsat 5 satellites are scheduled for launch later this year.