Inmarsat forges tie-up to provide broadband for air passengers

British satellite operator Inmarsat has teamed up with France's Alcatel-Lucent to develop a new high-speed broadband network for aircraft passengers across the EU.

The pair say the network will offer airlines the world's fastest in-flight broadband connections with speeds of up to 75 megabytes per second, far above the capabilities of North American ATG systems.

They will work together to develop the ground infrastructure for the new network, which is due to enter commercial service by the end of 2016.

The companies are in the process of applying for licenses for the network from EU member states and are also in talks with a number of major airlines and other industry partners.

Inmarsat Aviation president Leo Mondale said: "Together with world leading partners, such as Alcatel-Lucent, Inmarsat is setting a new standard for aviation connectivity, enabling airlines to offer their passengers access to online services for work or leisure using their own devices and with reliability and speeds previously only available on the ground."

Shares in Inmarsat rose 13.5p or 1.9% to 739.5p at 12:36 in London while Alcatel-Lucent's stock lifted €0.03 or 1.3% to €2.58 at 13:37 in Paris.