....as its partner to bring Inmarsat’s Global Xpress™ satellite service to the commercial airline market. Gogo will be a service provider, distributing Global Xpress service to the global commercial aviation market. Inmarsat has also selected Gogo’s business aviation subsidiary, Aircell, as a distribution partner for the business and government aviation markets. Working with Inmarsat, Gogo will begin in-flight testing of the Global Xpress aeronautical services after the launch of the first Inmarsat-5 satellite, which is scheduled for mid-2013. Gogo plans to offer regional service in 2013 with services for air transport, business aviation and government customers expected worldwide later in 2014. Inmarsat’s Global Xpress service will allow Gogo to use the first global Ka-band solution, which is expected to bring significantly improved performance to the global aero market in terms of coverage, capacity and cost. With expected transmission speeds up to 50 megabits per second, Global Xpress will power a solution that provides a high-performing satellite experience for passengers and airlines alike.
“We believe that this is truly a game changer for our industry in that it’s the first scalable global solution in the market. Inmarsat has assembled an incredible team and we are highly confident in the execution plan we’ve put in place,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO. “One of our goals is to be able to provide technology solutions that enable us to service the full-fleet needs of our current and future airline partners; regardless of aircraft size or mission. By partnering with Inmarsat, we are able to add an important piece to our technology puzzle.”
Gogo and its subsidiary, Aircell, will also be appointed as a SwiftBroadband distribution partner for the aeronautical markets. Gogo is a leading provider of in-air global satellite connectivity solutions for business aviation through Aircell, with more than 5,000 aircraft in service. Aircell has already installed equipment that uses Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband solution for global connectivity service on more than 100 business aircraft.
Additionally, OnAir will be an Inmarsat Distribution Partner for Global Xpress™. OnAir currently uses Inmarsat SwiftBroadband (SBB) to provide the connectivity for Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir, and has been working with Inmarsat over a period of time on a seamless upgrade path from SBB to GX. Global Xpress will operate in the Ka-band, and will provide users with significantly higher throughput than other satellite solutions, including the current generation technology based on Ku-band. This improved performance, combined with superior economics for both services and equipment and complete coverage of air routes, position Global Xpress to support broad introduction of connectivity services to passengers and airlines on a sustainable basis across their entire fleets. This agreement enables OnAir, a leading provider global SBB services for commercial airlines, governmental and business aircraft, to remain at the forefront of the sector, while ensuring that the business becomes the benchmark for industry solutions. OnAir is planning to offer Global Xpress services to its customers starting in 2013.
