Inmarsat the leading provider of global mobile satellite communication services, announced the successful completion of its Global Xpress ‘Around the World’ test flight. The exercise, conducted on a Gulfstream IV aircraft covered more than 25,000 miles and demonstrated Global Xpress’ ability to deliver seamless, worldwide coverage across multiple spot beams and satellites.

While government and business users have historically had to manipulate flight plans to avoid gaps in coverage and performance, the test flight enjoyed complete flexibility in route selection. The flight route spanned the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, beginning in the United States with stops in the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Australia and Fiji. A Global Xpress subscription-based data plan was configured for the Honeywell aero Tail Mount Antenna (TMA), with a committed information rate of 4Mbps forward and 1Mbps return but capable of 15Mbps or more. Uniform coverage and service was delivered to the aircraft as it moved across 28 beams with handovers that went unnoticed by users; and 3 satellite-to-satellite handovers that were accomplished seamlessly. The terminal’s global plan enabled access to the Global Xpress network worldwide without the need to pre-coordinate and receive satellite-specific option files.

During the flight, Global Xpress supported mission-critical voice, data and streaming applications to include video teleconferencing, high-speed Internet access and file transfer, VPN as well as phone calls, and fully delivered or exceeded the committed information rate. Inmarsat’s always-on worldwide capability for VIP aircraft customers is part of the company’s global mobility-centric strategy, unique in the market. Inmarsat has been supporting the demanding ‘go anywhere, anytime’ nature of aviation operations for decades, and is the market leader in providing a consistent, reliable L-band connectivity experience for users around the world.