Inmarsat and Panasonic Avionics enter into strategic collaboration
Staff Writer |
Inmarsat and Panasonic Avionics Corporation have agreed a strategic collaboration, for an initial ten-year period, that enables them to combine their highly complementary market leading services to offer broadband in-flight connectivity (IFC) paired with high-value solutions and services to customers in the commercial aviation industry worldwide.
Article continues below
This collaboration will enable airlines, aircraft manufacturers and passengers to benefit from the combined expertise of two companies that have been at the forefront of technology and innovation for nearly four decades.
Under the terms of the agreement, Inmarsat will become Panasonic's exclusive provider of Ka-band IFC for commercial aviation.
Panasonic will now be able to offer Inmarsat's high-speed, broadband connectivity service, GX Aviation, powered by Global Xpress, the world's first global Ka-band satellite network, owned and managed by a single operator.
Panasonic will continue to invest in its own network and, with GX Aviation as a primary offering for new business, will be perfectly positioned to serve both its current and future customers.
In addition, Inmarsat will now be able to offer Panasonic's market-leading portfolio of services and NEXT solutions to Inmarsat's commercial aviation customers. This includes customer support services available from Panasonic's Customer Performance Center and Technical Services teams.
The collaboration, which is already being deployed with a mutual customer, presents a unique opportunity to leverage Inmarsat's proven track record of high-quality and innovative global mobile connectivity, and Panasonic's market-leading in-flight entertainment, digital services and connectivity solutions.
Looking forward, Inmarsat and Panasonic will also collaborate on the development of a next generation GX Aviation terminal, as well as new connectivity-enabled services, data analytics and technology to improve overall end-to-end performance.
By delivering this step-change in aviation services capability, airlines will have access to new and better solutions that address widely recognized industry challenges of capacity, coverage and compatibility. This will give greater quality, consistency of experience and more choice to airlines and their passengers in the IFC market, which by some estimates could exceed $100 billion by 2035[1]. ■