Last weeks, a new satellite was placed in orbit that heralds the next generation of high speed communications for mobile users.
The 6-ton Inmarsat 4 (I-4) satellite, the size of a London double-decker bus, took off from Cape Canaveral and will now undergo post-launch tests and maneuvers. It is the first of three I-4 satellites that will supply London-based Inmarsat's coming menu of Broadband Global Area Network services, due in the fourth quarter of this year.
These new services will offer data speeds of up to 432 kilobits per second for applications such as video on demand, phone, e-mail, and Internet access. Inmarsat's satellite services are currently used by maritime vessels, military units, and other customers that need roaming capabilities in remote areas.
The next I-4 satellite is scheduled to fly sometime in the third quarter, and the third satellite, which will provide mostly redundant coverage for the first two, will follow at a later, unspecified date. The satellites are being built by European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company NV subsidiary EADS Astrium as part of an 8-year, $1.5 billion development plan to build Inmarsat's next-generation network.
The satellites is rated to have a lifespan of about 14 years, according to an Inmarsat.
It just keeps getting better.
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