DUBLIN, Ireland—Mobile satellite communications operator Inmarsat has launched an e-mail, video streaming and file transfer service for corporate jet users. The London-based company said it can provide Internet-based services at speeds equivalent to ISDN.
By the end of this year, Inmarsat—which hopes to roll out Internet services to commercial airlines within the next six to eight months—said it will have an Internet Protocol (IP)-based service in commercial operation, which will significantly reduce access costs.
Providing high-speed Internet access to aircraft passengers has been a target for several satellite communications companies. A number of similar proposed ventures have failed to get off the ground, however, due to lack of funding or lack of confidence in the technology.
Inmarsat is confident that its service will prove commercially attractive by allowing airlines to make more use of their existing communications infrastructure. It claimed that up to 80 percent of long-haul commercial aircraft and more than 1,000 corporate jets already have the necessary antennae.
