Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, today announced the selection of Intellian Technologies for the production of marine stabilised antennas for its forthcoming Global Xpress™ (GX) service.
Intellian, a leader in antenna systems for the maritime market, will design and manufacture a 60cm Ka-band GX antenna and a 1m Ku-band antenna that can be converted to Global Xpress when the service starts in 2013. Both antennas will incorporate the GX core module currently under development by iDirect.
The world’s first global Ka-band network, Global Xpress will deliver a high-performance, high-quality, cost-competitive service. Capable of providing up to 50Mbps, GX will operate alongside Inmarsat’s existing L-band maritime services to offer an unrivalled combination of power, reliability and global coverage for the world’s shipping fleets.
“Intellian has built a strong position in maritime satcoms hardware, and has invested heavily in their R&D, engineering and global distribution,” said Frank Coles, President of Inmarsat Maritime . “Their commitment to produce both a Ka-band GX antenna and a Ku-to-GX antenna supports our vision of providing a pathway today to the higher performance of Global Xpress in the near future.”
“Global Xpress will revolutionise the maritime satellite communications market,” said Eric Sung, President of Intellian . “We are delighted to be part of the future of Inmarsat and to help bring in a new era of maritime communications.”
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, December 7, 2011; Image: Intellian