Inmarsat announces successful launch of second GX satellite

On Sunday Inmarsat successfully launched its second Global Xpress mobile broadband satellite, as expected, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazhakstan, Russia.

The new satellite, the Inmarsat 5 F2, will reach its final position above the earth by the end of March, when it will begin testing its payload.

The first GX satellite entered into commercial service in July 2014, as part of the FTSE 250 group's staged launch of a "seamless, superfast mobile broadband services across the planet".

Rupert Pearce, the company's chief executive, said the launch of a second Boeing-built Inmarsat-5 F2 (I-5 F2) satellite was "a significant step forward" on the company's journey to deliver the world's first globally available, high speed mobile broadband service, delivered through a single network operator.

Inmarsat's $1.6bn GX programme is slated to deliver broadband speeds more than 100 times faster than the company's fourth generation satellites.

GX will deliver global Ka-band services with improved broadband speeds of up to 50Mbps and management has targeted an
additional $500m of revenues from GX by 2020.

Pearce recently said: "Global Xpress is a truly transformational technology and, as we complete its global roll-out, 2015 promises to be one of the most significant chapters in our company's history."