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| The Inmarsat 1-5 Global Xpress satellite. Photo: Rockwell Collins |
[Avionics Today 09-09-2014] Inmarsat and Rockwell Collins have signed the final agreement to make Rockwell Collins a Value Added Reseller (VAR) of GX Aviation to the commercial air transport market, bringing In-flight Connectivity (IFC) to commercial passengers by the first half of 2015.
Under the terms of the agreement, Rockwell Collins will bring Inmarsat’s latest generation of services to airline customers. GX Aviation will provide connectivity speeds of up to 50Mbps, enabling global in-flight entertainment to add real-time TV, video-on-demand and allowing standard email and web browsing at much faster speeds, according to a statement released by Rockwell Collins.
The first of the three initial GX Aviation satellites is already in orbit and began delivering commercial Ka-band network services on July 1. Inmarsat currently expects to complete the next two launches in a timeframe to permit the introduction of GX services on a global basis by the end of the first half of 2015. The airborne hardware is now in the certification phase and is on track to support the launch of GX Aviation in 2015.