London, 26 May 2023.- Inmarsat announced on the 24th of May that a new range of service plans for its Jet ConneX inflight broadband solution will be supported by SatCom Direct. SatCom Direct will act as a distribution partner for the airtime and developer of the advanced tail-mount terminal.
The new plans include high-end packages that exclusively use next-generation Jet ConneX terminals, such as SD’s Plane Simple Ka-band antenna system. This will enable passengers to simultaneously connect more devices and enjoy unchallenged access to applications including high-definition video conferencing, without compromising on the service’s proven characteristics of consistency, reliability, resilience, and seamless global availability.
Ongoing flight tests of the SD Plane Simple Ka-band antenna onboard the SD Gulfstream G550 aircraft are exceeding expectations. The tests have been conducted under an aircraft-specific supplemental type certificate, and are successfully validating the advanced hardware’s compatibility with Jet ConneX.
“The results of our flight testing have been outstanding and we are now close to securing type approval for its use on Inmarsat’s global Ka-band satellite network, no easy feat in what is a very stringent process,” says Chris Moore, Satcom Direct President. “We are excited to offer our customers the new JX Evolution plans, which will be supported by our Plane Simple Ka-band antenna, and are confident that strong demand will further strengthen our position as the leading service provider of Inmarsat’s ultra-high-speed business aviation services.”
Kai Tang, Head of Business Aviation at Inmarsat has added that “these latest service plans are a prime example of how we are raising the bar by combining the power of SD’s Plane Simple Ka-band Antenna System and our fast-growing global satellite network, with seven more payloads entering service by 2025.”
The tail-mount antenna and SD Modem Unit will enable the terminal to provide dual polarity transmissions using Inmarsat’s satellites. This will double the amount of resources it can access to unlock the enhanced capacity and speed of Jet ConneX’s new high-end service plans.
