Viasat’s new mechanically steered, 12-inch, G-12L KA-band antenna links to both Viasat’s own GEO satellite constella- tion and its newly acquired Inmarsat Global Xpress KA-band system.
have become operational. KA-band has up to seven times more frequency spectrum than KU-band, so sat- ellites can have wider band transponders. The potential result is up to 100 times greater speed than KU-band GEOs and an order of magnitude improvement over old- er KA-band SatCom GEOs. KA-band satellites also feature multiple spot beams to focus power in high traffic areas. In May, the two largest KA-band SatCom IFC providers merged, when Carls- bad California-based Viasat purchased Inmarsat. The combined company now operates 19 satellites with KA- band, L-band, and S-band in geostationary orbit above the equator. It plans to launch additional high Earth or- bit satellites to provide SatCom coverage over the poles. The merger provides Viasat with immediate, world- wide KA-band IFC coverage, filling in gaps in its current Viasat-2 KA-band and before its Viasat-3 constellation
becoming operational in late 2023 or early 2024. Inmar- sat KA-band Jet ConneX provides nominal peak speeds of 20 to 100 Mbps and committed information rate speeds of 8 Mbps down and 2 Mbps up using 2.5 GHz of available bandwidth and a single-polarization antenna. Viasat’s CIR down speed is 8 Mbps and up 750 Kbps us- ing 3.5 GHz of available spectrum and a dual-polariza- tion antenna. Inmarsat and Viasat KA-Band SatComs are not inter- changeable because of differences in assigned frequen- cies and antenna polarization. However, when Viasat-3 is fully operational, users will have IFC access to both satel- lite constellations. Most KA-band systems on business aircraft use me- chanically steered, dish antennas mounted under stream- lined radomes above the vertical fin or T-tail. The antennas lock onto and track satellites on the ground and in flight.
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