SwiftJet in-flight connectivity service for the business aviation market
Inmarsat’s revolutionary new SwiftJet inflight connectivity service for the business aviation market has reached a major milestone, after industry heavyweights Satcom Direct and Honeywell were named first global channel partners.
The announcement comes less than five months after SwiftJet launched as the world’s fastest L-band business aviation inflight connectivity service, receiving an overwhelmingly positive market response. It will enter service in the first half of 2023 and customers can now engage with their preferred channel partners, as well as aircraft manufacturers and installers, to begin discussions on pricing plans, service contracts, feasibility of upgrading, etc.
As one of the first new services to be introduced on Inmarsat’s ELERA satellite network, SwiftJet offers seamless global coverage and top speeds of 2.6 Mbps, up to six times faster than the Connectivity service. Inmarsat’s existing L-band business aviation network, SwiftBroadband (SBB). This allows passengers to create a secure “office in the sky” with enhanced capabilities for video calling, web browsing, email, texting, cloud syncing and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams. Social media and video applications such as YouTube, which were previously difficult on the L band, will also be enabled.
SwiftJet uses advanced hardware from Inmarsat’s partner, Honeywell, which can be fitted to a wide range of aircraft and also supports cockpit and safety services. Existing customers of Inmarsat’s SBB service will enjoy a natural upgrade path with minimal changes to installed equipment, while new customers will experience the same ease of installation as with any Inmarsat L-band terminal. The service also creates new opportunities in the market for smaller jet aircraft, which were previously limited to basic voice or text connectivity that does not meet the needs of modern business travellers.
As the latest addition to Inmarsat’s portfolio of inflight connectivity services for business aviation, SwiftJet will be available alongside SBB and Jet ConneX (JX), the most popular premium broadband solution and the most widely adopted available today, powered by global Ka band. constellation of satellites.
Kai Tang, Inmarsat Business Aviation Manager, said: “SwiftJet is a testament to how Inmarsat continues to develop its popular inflight connectivity solutions in direct response to customer and partner feedback. The business aviation market has entered an exciting new period of growth, with flight volumes now above pre-pandemic levels. However, expectations around the digital onboard experience have also changed dramatically and the market has challenged us to amplify L-band capabilities. So business travelers can enjoy faster connections over a larger number of devices, where and when they travel, without compromising the key characteristics of resiliency, reliability and availability.
“We have worked hard to make the service available as soon as possible. Customers can now chat with Satcom Direct and Honeywell – two of our oldest business aviation partners – to activate SwiftJet’s game-changing capabilities when it enters service next year.
Inmarsat’s ELERA global satellite network offers the world’s most reliable and flexible global connectivity, with full redundancy and unique resilience in all conditions. ELERA’s capabilities are further enhanced with the addition of two Inmarsat-6 satellites, the largest and most sophisticated commercial communications satellites ever built, both of which are due to enter service next year and will support SwiftJet for up to to the 2030s, reinforcing the long service life. term value. The L-band capacity of each I-6 satellite will be significantly greater than that of Inmarsat’s 4th generation spacecraft, offering 50% more capacity per beam in addition to unlimited beam routing flexibility.
The I-6 series of satellites will also play a crucial role in the continued growth of Inmarsat’s unique ORCHESTRA dynamic mesh network, which will bring together existing geosynchronous (GEO) satellites with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and terrestrial 5G to form an integrated network, a high-performance solution, unequaled by any existing or planned competing offer.
