World’s leading Ku-band services provider and world’s leading Ka-band provider partnering to expand service offering for customers, drive further digitalisation

28 January 2020 : Inmarsat the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications and ITC Global have announced a five-year strategic collaboration. The partnership enables the organizations to combine their highly complementary, market-leading services to offer broadband connectivity, paired with high-value connectivity solutions to customers in the maritime, yachting and offshore energy sectors.

ITC Global will offer Inmarsat’s market-leading Fleet Xpress service, incorporating the Ka-band solution into its existing comprehensive range of Ku-band connectivity services. Fleet Xpress for Offshore is powered by the Global Xpress Ka-band network, combined with the proven reliability of Inmarsat’s flagship, FleetBroadband L-band service.

Delivering high data speeds, continuous connectivity and guaranteed performance, the Ka-band service – which is now installed on over 8,000 vessels – sets a new standard for maritime global communications, with crew welfare, regulatory and operational drivers at the heart. Benefits include affordable voice calls, multiple voice options for crew and operations and high-speed broadband for internet access, plus 24/7 online support by certified engineers. For offshore clients, Fleet Xpress provides added subscription flexibility to meet seasonal and short-term demand changes.

Eric Griffin, Inmarsat Maritime, Vice President Offshore & High End Fishing, said: “We are pleased to secure the support of a key partner in ITC Global, which reflects our own commitment to providing the offshore and wider maritime community with uniquely global, reliable and flexible broadband connectivity anywhere in the world to meet their rapidly growing digitalisation needs.”

ITC Global is a subsidiary of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, delivering high-speed, high-capacity communications services to customers across the oil and gas, mining, merchant maritime and passenger vessel markets.

“Using our combined expertise of Ku-, L- and Ka-bands, we will be well-positioned to meet the individual demands of maritime and offshore customers,” said Ian Dawkins, CEO at ITC Global. “The agreement will enable us to extract further value from the synergies between our organizations and leverage our mutual technology and product innovations to fully support the operational requirements of customers.”

In September 2018, Inmarsat and Panasonic Avionics Corporation inked a similar agreement to offer broadband inflight connectivity (IFC) paired with high-value services to customers in the commercial aviation industry worldwide. The collaboration enables 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.