Inmarsat Says EAN on Schedule for 2017 Satellite Launch

Inmarsat moved to the next phase of building its European Aviation Network in-flight broadband service, the satellite company said in a news release Thursday. Thales Alenia Space completed on schedule the construction and subsystem tests of the satellite for EAN, Inmarsat said. The satellite will undergo more testing before it’s declared ready for flight in 2017, it said. "Once these tests are complete, the satellite will be prepared for launch by SpaceX at Cape Canaveral in Florida.” The satellite will provide mobile satellite services to aircraft flying over dense European routes, using Inmarsat’s 30 MHz S-band spectrum allocation in the 28 EU member states, Norway and Switzerland, Inmarsat said. That will be integrated with a LTE-based ground network covering about 300 sites, operated by Inmarsat partner Deutsche Telekom, and aircraft will be able to switch automatically between satellite and terrestrial with on-board network communicators, it said.