Global Commercial Service Achieved
Global commercial service introduction (CSI) was achieved for Global Xpress (GX) during December 2015.
The GX constellation is formed of three Ka-band, high-speed mobile broadband communications satellites. Each I-5 satellite is expected to have a commercial life of 15 years and together, the three satellites provide the coverage required to deliver global GX services.
Each satellite was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan:
- I-5 F1 – launched on 6 December 2013 to deliver regional GX services for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia
- I-5 F2 – launched on 1 February 2015 to deliver regional GX services for the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean Region
- I-5 F3 – launched on 28 August 2015 to deliver regional GX services for the Pacific Ocean Region.
As part of Inmarsat’s US$1.6 billion programme commitment, a fourth Global Xpress satellite (I-5 F4) is currently completing construction and testing by Boeing in California, and is likely to be launched in the second half of 2016 in order to provide additional GX capacity.
The I-5 satellites operate with a combination of fixed narrow spot beams that enable Inmarsat to deliver higher speeds through more compact terminals, plus steerable beams so additional capacity can be directed in real-time to where it’s needed.
Operating in the resilient Ka-band, while integrating seamlessly with our proven L-band network, GX allows customers across aviation, maritime, enterprise and government sectors to have reliable and assured access to high-throughput communications.
With Cisco, we have also developed the Inmarsat Service Enablement Platform (ISEP) and the Inmarsat Gateway, which will deliver a whole new world of innovative, content-rich applications – developed by our Certified Application Partners – tailored to meet Global Xpress users’ needs.
During the course of 2016, Inmarsat will be introducing a series of market-specific, high-speed connectivity services powered by Global Xpress.
Global Xpress for U.S. Government
U.S. government missions operate on a worldwide scale, which is why they continue to rely on Inmarsat and its global trusted network. Global Xpress is the first and only commercial wideband network that spans the world, offered by a single provider. Available and in use by governments in all three-ocean regions, Global Xpress delivers the benefits of highly reliable, high-throughput satellite capability to respond to mobile, interoperable communication needs.
Combining global coverage and military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) interoperability, Global Xpress provides a cost effective complementary solution for government users. Alongside their MILSATCOM resources, government users can now efficiently extend their wideband coverage, increase capacity, flexibility and resiliency, without investing in additional satellites or new terminals.
Service Options
Global Xpress ‘SATCOM as a Service’
Inmarsat provides Global Xpress as an end-to-end managed service everywhere – delivered by an ecosystem of our world-renowned partners. This unique ‘SATCOM as a Service’ capability offers mobile high-throughput connectivity the way you need it: simple, affordable and operationally available – anywhere, anytime.
Global Xpress terminals are easy to use, with committed information rates throughout the world. Today’s highly mobile wideband military users need more than “up to” data rates to support their operations. Global Xpress delivers guaranteed, “at least” data rates for individual mission requirements at a moment’s notice. Global Xpress terminals connect to the world’s only global Ka-band service, offered by a single provider, built from the ground up to service government end users and their critical mission needs.
Global Xpress Mil-Ka lease
Global Xpress high capacity beams operating in the military Ka-band allow NATO and AUSCANZUKUS users to access wideband capacity as part of their own independent network, in the same frequency band as national systems like Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS).
On the ground, in the air or at sea, Department of Defense (DoD) users can steer their capacity anywhere in the world to seamlessly augment their WGS coverage. They can connect their same mil-Ka SATCOM terminals, using any DoD-certified waveform, to the same destined Point of Presence, or through Inmarsat-provided Global Xpress secure enclaves.
Benefits
Seamless Worldwide Mobility
Wherever the next mission arises, Global Xpress has you covered with a network that is owned and managed 24/7/365 solely by Inmarsat, the U.S. government’s #1 trusted provider of mobile satellite services. Purposely designed for mobility, Global Xpress provides a continuous, consistent service anywhere in the world – on land, at sea and in the air – as traffic is handed seamlessly across each spot beam.
Consistent Higher Performance
Because Global Xpress users are always near the peak of one of worldwide beams, the service delivers consistently higher performance. And when there are surges in demand, Global Xpress can direct its spot beams to provide more local bandwidth than any other commercial satellite system. In fact, Global Xpress boosts speeds up to 100 times faster than Inmarsat’s standard L-band service. Global Xpress provides a high quality of service that is guaranteed to support the most critical government missions today and in the future.
Legendary Reliability
Inmarsat is the gold standard for safety services—we have operated the most reliable commercial mobile satellite communication network for more than 35 years, and quality of service is fundamental to our business. Global Xpress offers unprecedented throughput for worldwide mobility supported by a global, fully redundant ground infrastructure for resilience. When Global Xpress is complemented in a hybrid offering by our L-band services on the Inmarsat-4, which deliver over 99.9% network availability, the combined capability offers a unique blend of high throughput as well as the industry’s highest all-weather availability. Inmarsat offers customers the only worldwide network that combines the best mobility technologies in Ka- and L-band to meet the most challenging mission requirements.
Affordable
Global Xpress represents a cost-effective approach to wideband, providing high-performance Ka-bandwidth to affordable compact terminals at a lower cost than existing VSAT services. In addition, our ability to deliver Global Xpress as an end-to-end managed service often translates to additional cost savings for government users.
End-to-End Solution
Global Xpress is built on Inmarsat’s trusted worldwide satellite and terrestrial infrastructure. Together with our valued partners, we ensure that you have the connectivity and capacity you need when and where you need it.
Interoperability
Built With Government Users in Mind
Global Xpress is the only worldwide commercial satellite network that is fully interoperable with MILSATCOM Ka-band networks.
Built purposely with additional capabilities specific to government and military users, our worldwide service seamlessly complements the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) network and allows government users to supplement their capacity using existing WGS-certified terminals. Global Xpress provides the desired flexibility and cost-efficiency, allowing U.S. government to augment its system when needed, without any up-front commitment.
Trusted Service
Inmarsat’s U.S. government users can trust that our secure network infrastructure brings reliable assured access that is built to meet cybersecurity best practices, with support by a dedicated cybersecurity team. Global Xpress commercial services and infrastructure are engineered to meet U.S. DoD 8500 Mission Assurance Category (MAC) level III/ National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 800-53 Low Assurance standards. Global Xpress secure enclave and network can be built to meet higher security standards requirements.
Terminals
Wide Range of Compact Terminals
Global Xpress delivers wideband data rates through compact and affordable, commercially available terminals as well as existing MILSATCOM terminals in your inventory.
A broad selection of easy-to-use terminals are available in mobile, portable and fixed formats from industry-leading manufacturers for expeditionary, aero and maritime environments in both commercial and military form factors.
