Intellian's recently launched 2.4m v240MT Gen-II antenna has achieved type approval from SES.
Intellian’s v240MT Gen-I was the world’s first 2.4m tri-band and multi-orbit antenna — the v240MT Gen-II delivers enhanced performance across C-, Ku- and Ka bands, providing customers with access to higher throughput and offering improved network efficiency to the operator. These advances were proven in partnership with SES, with the new system producing exceptional results during testing and sea trials.
Intellian's next-generation v240MT Gen-II tri-band antenna.
In addition to the enhanced performance of the v240MT Gen-II, the new model offers greater flexibility and more features — paired with the new Intelligent Mediator solution, customers are now able to simultaneously manage as many as eight antennas. This allows for seamless connectivity and the ability to maximize performance and throughput from the systems on board. Customers and partners also benefit from the capability to manage and control systems both on-board and remotely, allowing for cost savings through monitoring and maintenance.
Eric Sung, CEO of Intellian, said SES operates the industry’s only multi-orbit satellite fleet, with a GEO and MEO constellation — the company believes that the v240MT Gen-II antenna system, with its tri-band and multi-orbit flexibility, constitutes a perfect fit. Both companies are focused on delivering innovative solutions to customers in terms of performance, reliability, flexibility and all-round user experience. It’s exciting to know that Intellian is forging a new path for maritime satellite communications with valued partners.
Additionally, Intellian has also received product approval from Inmarsat for their new GX100NX antenna. This announcement follows excellent results achieved during recent testing at Inmarsat’s innovative, hi-tech facility in Ålesund, Norway, followed by a wholly successful sea trial.
Intellian's next-generation GX100NX antenna
has been approved by Inmarsat.
The Ka-band GX network from Inmarsat is being enhanced and expanded at an extraordinary rate, with fully-funded plans to increase the number of GX satellites over the next four years from four to twelve. This is in response to rapidly increasing user demand for high speed data services across the globe, including the typically hard-to-reach Arctic regions.
The latest of the new satellites – GX5 – was successfully launched in November of 2019 and is positioned to cover the EMEA region. Once in service later this year, GX5 will deliver twice the capacity of the entire existing GX fleet of four spacecraft combined.
Intellian’s highly efficient, next-generation GX100NX antenna supports 2.5 GHz Ka- wideband networks out of the box and is supplied with a 5W BUC as standard, with the option to upgrade to a high-power 10W unit. This makes the GX100NX upgradable and future proof for Inmarsat’s next generation, high-capacity, high-speed constellation and future network upgrades.
Extensive sea trials demonstrated the significant advances over previous GX100 models, with faster satellite acquisition and a staggering 1dB (25%) signal increase. These advantages combine to deliver substantial improvements in network efficiency and availability which, when combined with superior bandwidth, will introduce Intellian and Inmarsat’s customers to a new era of reliability and value. Terminal testing also proved the effectiveness of the GX100NX Below Deck Unit, which integrates the Antenna Control Unit, GX modem and mediator function for dual antenna configuration in a single unit.
Intellian NX antennas – including the GX100NX – feature a single cable design, along with new AptusNX software to enable fast commissioning and maintenance. This focus on streamlining installation and support processes delivers lower lifetime costs, without compromise on link performance. More savings come from the NX platform’s modular design, allowing spare part stocks to be reduced by up to 40%.
Eric Sung, CEO of Intellian, commented that the company designed the NX series to bring cutting-edge performance to customers, both now and into the future. Inmarsat’s rapid network expansion, both in terms of coverage and bandwidth, gives us the opportunity to demonstrate that the GX100NX is ideally suited to do just that, and the firm anticipates it will rapidly become the preferred choice for Inmarsat Fleet Xpress customers.
Ronald Spithout, President, Inmarsat Maritime, added that Intellian’s innovative approach to antenna design mirrors the company's strategy for the Fleet Xpress platform, which has been installed on more than 8,000 vessels and is now much more than a VSAT connectivity pipe, due to fast-growing value-added services such as Fleet Data, Fleet Edge and Fleet Secure as well as the rapid development of our Application Provider ecosystem. Inmarsat is delighted to welcome the GX100NX to the firm's network and, together with Intellian, the company looks forward to delivering and continuously improving the service to meet the growing connectivity demands of the global maritime economy.