Inmarsat Marks 1000th Jet ConneX Installation

Inmarsat (Booth No. 1719) is celebrating the 1,000th installation and activation of its Ka-band Jet ConneX in-flight, high-speed broadband service since its introduction in 2016. Jet ConneX is delivered via Inmarsat’s Global Xpress satellite network and uses Honeywell Aerospace’s JetWave hardware. It is an available option on aircraft from major OEMs including Gulfstream, Bombardier, and Dassault.

Inmarsat has received type certificate and supplemental type certificate (STC) approvals for the service from the FAA and EASA across all popular platforms, OEMs, and aftermarket MROs. A recent survey of business aviation professionals co-commissioned by Inmarsat found that 80 percent believed that more business aviation flights will be taken in the next year and 90 percent also feel online activities will dominate principals’ time in the air, almost evenly split between business and leisure.

Inmarsat also recently unveiled plans for Orchestra, a new communications network that will bring existing geosynchronous (GEO) satellites together with low earth orbit satellites (LEO) and terrestrial 5G to form an integrated, communications solution that will boost capacity in high-density areas such as at airports and eliminate congested network "hot spots."

“We have experienced a rapid surge in demand for fast, reliable, and consistent in-flight Wi-Fi,” said Kai Tang, Inmarsat’s head of business aviation. “We are investing more than ever in several upcoming next-generation satellites, plus significant enhancements to our ground stations, hardware, and software. This will amplify Jet ConneX capabilities even further and also result in unprecedented new L-band offerings to cement our long-term leadership in business aviation connectivity.”