Inmarsat expands IoT global network

Coming just days after the announcement of combined network, Orchestra, Elera is based on Inmarsat’s L-band network and incorporates new features such as higher speeds, smaller terminals and Inmarsat-6 satellites, the first of which (I-6 F1) is scheduled to launch before the end of the year.

Rajeev Suri, chief executive of Inmarsat said that Elera was perfectly suited to the needs of the connected IoT world. “Global reach, extraordinary resilience, faster speeds, smaller and lower cost terminals are all part of ensuring that we remain ahead of others in meeting the needs of our customers,” he said.

The company is hoping to bring to market in the near future spectrum management technology which will deliver L-band speeds of up to 1.7Mpbs, plus a low-cost L-band terminal and two new L-band satellites.

These I-6 satellites, the first of which is scheduled to launch at the end of 2021, will have a substantially greater capacity than that of Inmarsat’s 4th generation satellites, delivering 50% more capacity per beam.