[SatNews] Bringing both Ku- and L-band to maritime folk in a bundle...

Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L) now offers a pathway product to its future Global Xpress™ (GX) service, providing maritime users with access to both Ku-band VSAT and L-band FleetBroadband services in a bundled package. Initially available from Ship Equip and Stratos, Inmarsat’s direct distribution channel, the new offering will deliver a fully-integrated managed service for an inclusive monthly fixed fee.  It is intended to be available to all GX-appointed distributors. Designed to provide a bridge to Inmarsat’s Ka-band Global Xpress service, the package includes a guaranteed free hardware upgrade when Inmarsat’s new service becomes available in 2013.

The service offers... 

• Ku-band hardware, approved by Inmarsat as upgradable to Ka-band
• FleetBroadband (FB500) hardware
• Airtime at 512kpbs/512kbps, with a committed information rate (CIR) of 128kbps
• Inclusive FleetBroadband airtime where the VSAT service is not available
• The complete range of Ship Equip and Stratos applications and support products
• Guaranteed free upgrade from the Ku-band hardware to Ka-band Global Xpress
• Guaranteed double bandwidth upgrade on Global Xpress: 1Mbps/1Mbps and 256kbps CIR

The announcement follows the recent introduction of fixed fee options on FleetBroadband, which provide very large allowances for merchant fleets that want the functionality and reliability of an L-band service with predictable fixed costs.