[SatNews]  Inmarsat Government has executed a service provider agreement with Honeywell to provide Inmarsat Global Xpress services to the U.S. government aeronautical market.     

This agreement extends Honeywell’s existing business with Inmarsat, including its JetWave™ product, the exclusive terminal hardware, which enables connectivity to Inmarsat’s Global Xpress constellation network, and Honeywell’s commercial connectivity services for business aviation.

The Global Xpress commercial Ka-band network will usher in an unprecedented, globally available, high-throughput wideband data service for mobile users offered by a single operator. Inmarsat’s fleet of three Global Xpress Inmarsat-5 (I-5) satellites is on schedule to enter global service early in the second half of 2015. Global Xpress will be the world’s first globally available commercial Ka-band network from one operator and has been built purposely with additional capabilities specific to government and military users. It will deliver secure, end-to-end wideband connectivity for seamless airborne, naval and land operations on a global basis. Government and military users will have high-speed data for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, giving access to true high-throughput connectivity for sharing information. The Global Xpress network is also interoperable with the U.S. government’s military Ka-band Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) system.

“With Global Xpress, U.S. government airborne customers will have uninterrupted access to seamless wideband connectivity from takeoff to landing on a global basis,” said Susan Miller, president and CEO of Inmarsat Government.  “Government users will benefit from the reliable high-throughput connectivity that Global Xpress delivers to support a variety of applications.”

“As an Inmarsat Government Global Xpress service provider, Honeywell expands on its extensive in-flight services offering with revolutionary wideband capabilities, making it easy for the U.S. government to procure service and hardware from one source,” said Michael Edmonds, vice president, Marketing and Product Management, Honeywell Aerospace. “As in-flight communication requirements continue to increase and evolve in the future, we are pleased to be an integral part of the total solution that sets a new standard in truly mobile, seamless, worldwide connectivity for the U.S. government aviation customer.”