Inmarsat unveils its communications network of the future

Inmarsat unveiled plans for Orchestra, a communications network bringing together existing geosynchronous (GEO) satellites with low earth orbit satellites (LEO) and terrestrial 5G into an integrated solution.

Whether for a ship in a crowded port, an aircraft preparing to land at LAX or a defence force deployed in a remote location, Orchestra is intended to open up previously unattainable possibilities for industries across the world. New services include close-shore navigation for autonomous vessels, next-generation emergency safety services for maritime crews, secure and tactical private networks for governments and direct-to-cloud connections for airlines. New segments set to benefit from Orchestra include energy rigs and drilling platforms, mid-market business aircraft, coastal vessels, smart passenger ships and urban air mobility.

Orchestra draws together the benefits of multiple technologies to create one cohesive solution. LEO, GEO and terrestrial networks have been combined to create a unified connectivity service for mobility customers. The result is a ‘dynamic mesh network’ that will deliver performance connectivity everywhere, bringing together the lowest average latency and fastest average speeds, eliminating congested network ‘hot spots’.

Inmarsat’s existing GEO satellites — both GX and L-band — will continue to provide global coverage, security and resilience. Terrestrial 5G adds high capacity in busy ‘hot spots’, such as ports, airports and sea canals. A small constellation of LEO satellites will layer additional high capacity over further high-demand areas such as oceanic flight corridors. As a result, the network will offer high capacity for mobility users worldwide and at hot spots.

The network will benefit from ‘dynamic mesh’ technology, which allows individual customer terminals to direct traffic to and from other customer terminals. This means that a ship within reach of a 5G ground station can receive ample capacity for its own needs as well as route capacity onwards to other vessels beyond terrestrial reach. This effectively creates a mobile web of terminals that extend the network’s reach and improve its performance and resilience.

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