Thales and Inmarsat announced a new agreement Tuesday at the APEX Expo in Anaheim, Calif., that will make Thales a marketing partner for Inmarsat’s in-flight connectivity solutions.
Under the new agreement, Thales’ TopSeries in-flight entertainment and connectivity platform (IFEC) will use Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband as its primary satellite service. When GX Aviation enters service in 2015, Thales will add that as a primary satellite service for TopSeries as well, the company said.
"The ultimate aim of this agreement is to achieve today in the airline market, what network operators and mobile phone manufacturers achieved a decade ago by making passengers and systems connected anytime, anywhere," said Dominique Giannoni, CEO of Thales IFEC division.
Inmarsat currently provides satellite communications for more than 15,000 connected aircraft, and will look to increase their market share through the new partnership with Thales.