ELERA Will Use Two New Soon To Launch I-6 Satellites

Inmarsat reports plans to invest in ELERA, a wholesale upgrade of its L-Band network. Plans included will be tripling the speed of the network and introducing smaller terminals that are used by customers to receive and decode the satellite signal.

Inmarsat is making these changes to meet the demand for IoT. A large portion of the demand comes from connectivity for remote locations, with aviation included. The network will help with communications at disaster relief sites, and support the use of drones.

New spectrum management capabilities being incorporated into the ELERA network will deliver the fastest speeds globally available to L-band customers. Live customer trials in commercial aviation are scheduled to start in 2022 and the technology will be rolled out over the years to follow.

Inmarsat is initiating the launch of two new satellites to enhance the ELERA network, set to launch at the end of 2021. The L-band capacity on each I-6 satellite will be greater than Inmarsat’s 4th generation spacecraft and will deliver 50% more capacity per beam.

“ELERA is perfectly suited to the needs of the connected IoT world,” said Rajeev Suri, CEO, Inmarsat. “Global reach, extraordinary resilience, faster speeds, smaller and lower cost terminals are all part of ensuring that we remain ahead of others in meeting the needs of our customers.”
 
“ELERA is a further sign of a company with true momentum and one that is delivering new innovations and strong performance,” continued Suri.

“I expect that Inmarsat will grow strongly in 2021 compared to the previous year and that growth will span most of our business units. Our progress was evident in the first half, where we saw strong growth in revenue and EBITDA and robust cash flow. We have sharpened our strategy to focus on driving growth, accelerate decision making, launch new innovations, and are creating a more commercially focused, customer-centric culture.”

FMI: www.inmarsat.com