Sea Tel Selected for Inmarsat’s Global Xpress™ in US $40M Deal

01 March 2011

Cobham Satcom (Sea Tel) has been selected by Inmarsat to be the maritime terminal launch partner for Inmarsat’s new Global Xpress™ global broadband service, with a distribution opportunity valued at $40 million over the next five years, and potential for more depending on market success.

Boeing 702HP satellites will provide Global Express Ka-band communications services

Cobham has been awarded contracts to develop, manufacture, test and distribute Global Xpress maritime satellite terminals, through their Sea Tel product line. As initial launch partner, Cobham will ensure availability of Global Xpress maritime satellite terminals at service introduction planned for 2013.

“Cobham ranks number one in its Sea Tel VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) range. We’re known for creating innovative products that helped fuel the growth of C and Ku band maritime VSAT services”, said Fred Cahill, vice president of Cobham Antenna Systems. “We are thrilled to partner with Inmarsat to help create the next generation of rugged and reliable maritime terminals for use on military ships, recreational boats, offshore platforms and more.”

Global Xpress™ will begin operations in 2013 with services tailored initially for the government, energy and maritime markets. Global Xpress™ takes advantage of the additional bandwidth available in the Ka-band to offer download rates of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 5Mbps from mobile user terminals as small as 60 centimeters.