ADS Advance – Inmarsat strengthens business aviation in-flight connectivity with the 1,000th activation of Jet ConneX

Image courtesy of Inmarsat



This milestone was celebrated with Inmarsat partners at the NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, USA, and also coincides with the fifth anniversary of Jet ConneX. Since entering commercial service in November 2016, Jet ConneX has quickly become the industry benchmark in-flight connectivity service for the business aviation industry, delivering the same level of reliable, consistent, high-speed broadband in the air that was previously only available on the ground.


Powered by Inmarsat’s global Ka-band satellite network, Global Xpress, Jet ConneX is the preferred line configuration option of all major business aircraft manufacturers, including Gulfstream, Bombardier and Dassault, and uses Honeywell Aerospace’s JetWave equipment. Inmarsat has received type certificate and supplemental type certificate (STC) approvals for service from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on all popular platforms, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket repair and overhaul services. suppliers (MRO).


The 1,000th activation comes at an important time for the business aviation industry. After a period of turbulence over the past 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent survey commissioned by Inmarsat and Corporate Jet Investor (CJI) found that nearly 80% of people worldwide believe that More frequent business aviation flights will be carried out. next year. A staggering 90% also believe that online activities will dominate the time of principals, split almost equally between business and leisure.


Kai Tang, head of business aviation at Inmarsat, said, “The business world has changed dramatically since the onset of COVID-19 and during times of unprecedented turbulence and instability, the business leaders business cannot afford to be offline. As a result, we’ve seen a rapid increase in demand for the fast, reliable, and consistent in-flight Wi-Fi that only Jet ConneX can deliver, where and when they fly. We believe this is a long-term trend that will not stabilize as we emerge from this COVID era.


“Therefore, the outlook is bright and we look forward to working with our partners to build on the momentum of the past five years, with 1,000 activations now completed and many more to come. As part of these efforts, we are investing more than ever in several upcoming next-generation satellites, as well as significant improvements to our ground stations, hardware and software, all supported by world-class cybersecurity. . This will further amplify the capabilities of Jet ConneX and also translate into unprecedented new L-band offerings to solidify our long-term leadership in business aviation connectivity. “


Inmarsat recently unveiled plans for ORCHESTRA, the communications network of the future, which will bring together existing geosynchronous satellites (GEO) with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and terrestrial 5G to form an integrated and powerful solution, unmatched by any other existing system or the planned competing offer. ORCHESTRA increases capacity in high density areas such as airports, eliminating congested network “hot spots” and ensuring that the connectivity needs of business aviation customers continue to be met at the future, with a capacity directly adapted to their needs.