Gulf carrier expected to sign for Inmarsat's GX service At Dubai Airshow

Global satcom solutions provider INMARSAT says a Gulf carrier will sign up for its new GX Aviation service, billed as the first truly global, high-speed broadband in the skies, at next month's Dubai Airshow, writes Barbara Saunders.
Time Aerospace thumbnail

Speaking on the side lines of ATC Global in Dubai, the company’s Regional Director Middle East and Africa, Ben Griffin, says the regional GX Aviation breakthrough order comes as passengers flying the premier Gulf carriers are now viewing seamless Wifi as “a baseline requirement and no longer a nice-to-have.”
Griffin, who declined to name the carrier involved, said the GX, which delivers up to 50Mbps (megabits per second), has been selected in response to increasingly mature passenger expectations of the Gulf carriers, who are “among the earliest of technology adopters.”
“It means passengers flying the airline which is buying the service can expect similar download speeds, data rates and bandwidth cruising at 35,000ft as they do on the ground,” said Griffin. “The GX uses the latest highly efficient Ka-band technology, with steerable spot beams which enable greater capacity to be delivered exactly where and when it is needed. This means more affordable in-flight connectivity for aircraft operators.”
Griffin said regional interest in the GX is buoyant, particularly for carriers serving long-haul, intercontinental routes where passengers look for seamless connectivity throughout the entire flight.