Pan-African carrier Ethiopian Airlines, will offer advanced, high-speed inflight broadband to passengers onboard its upcoming Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with GX Aviation provided by Inmarsat, recently acquired by Viasat, and selected through the Airbus Airspace Link HBCplus programme. As one of the launch airlines for inflight connectivity (IFC) through Airbus’s HBCplus programme, Ethiopian Airlines will benefit […]

After a long-drawn out series of competition investigations over the past 18 months, Viasat has finally wrapped its planned merger with Inmarsat. The deal represents the biggest satellite industry consolidation since SES acquired GE Americom back in November 2001 (which cost SES $5 billion at the time). This Viasat deal is more complex given that […]

Viasat of California and London-based Inmarsat can now wrap up their much-awaited merger plan. The final regulatory approval, from the European Commission, was granted on May 25th. The two companies expect their merger to conclude “in days” and by the end of May. The European Commission (EC) was concerned that the merger scheme would limit […]

Inmarsat has announced that Rajeev Suri will stand down as chief executive on completion of the company’s sale to Viasat. Suri has been nominated by the shareholder consortium that acquired Inmarsat in 2019 to serve as a Board Director of Viasat upon completion of the sale. He will also be involved with ensuring a smooth […]

Communications provider Inmarsat has announced the next chapter of its Jet ConneX (JX) inflight broadband solution, introducing a new range of service plans which it says will redefine gold standard connectivity in the business aviation market and satisfy even the most data-hungry users for many years to come. Launched as part of Inmarsat’s JX Evolution […]

Mark Dankberg, chairman of Viasat, said that his company’s airline clients were buying into the concept of geostationary satellites and that the recently launched ViaSat-3 satellite would make a major difference to its airline broadband services. Viasat serves 15 airlines including Delta Air Lines which represents major – and growing – demand on Viasat’s satellite […]

Despite being just days away from receiving the final approval for its planned merger with Viasat, London-based Inmarsat has ordered up three new satellites. The new craft measure just 1.5 cubic metres (plus the solar arrays) and are about one-fifth of the size and weight of conventional geostationary satellites. They will form Inmarsat’s I-8 fleet. […]

London-based Inmarsat will be absorbed by Viasat of California in the near future. Meanwhile, the satellite telco has delivered its strongest revenue numbers in 44 years with improved results cross all its key divisions. Its Aviation segment jumping by more than one-third in Q1 and its Maritime division saw its ninth consecutive quarter-year of growth. […]

Inmarsat has appointed Raytheon Technologies’ Collins Aerospace business as the latest global distribution partner for its new SwiftJet inflight connectivity service. SwiftJet, which enters commercial service this year, will offer the fastest-ever speeds over L-band for the global business aviation market. The agreement marks an expansion of the companies’ long-standing partnership. Customers can now talk […]

Following a provisional clearance in March 2023, the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) is now allowing the proposed merger of Viasat and Inmarsat to go ahead. Both Viasat and Inmarsat supply businesses globally with satellite connectivity that enables services such as the Internet, email, and video calling – including for use on aircraft. In […]