London, October 31, 2022 – As part of Telstra’s rapidly growing satellite telecommunications portfolio and services, it has expanded ground stations in Perth and Merredin, Western Australia with additional antennas to support the revolutionary I-6 F1 satellite from Inmarsat. This builds on a partnership between the two companies in Australia dating back more than thirty years.
Launched from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan in December 2021, I-6 F1 is the first of two Inmarsat-6 (I-6) satellites designed to enhance significantly both the narrowband ELERA network, and Global Xpress broadband service for Inmarsat customers around the world.
The I-6 satellites are the most technologically advanced and largest commercial communications satellites ever launched, allowing for greater capacity, coverage and speeds to customers in agriculture, aviation and maritime sectors amongst others.
The new satellite access station (SAS) forms a crucial link between the satellite and terrestrial networks allowing connectivity to be transported immediately to its destinations across the globe.
Telstra’s turnkey approach for Inmarsat included the two companies working together in designing, building and activating the facility with specific capabilities to meet Inmarsat’s requirements. From purchasing the land to laying the foundation and completing buildout, not to mention navigating the challenges of Covid-19 restrictions worldwide, the project was completed to agreed delivery timelines.
Matt Williams, Managing Director, Telstra EMEA said, “Inmarsat’s I-6 F1 and the new ground station have really moved the global ‘space race’ along and entrenched Australia’s position as a front runner in satellite communications. We delight in putting our skills, experience and access to global sites to use for ambitious global operators like Inmarsat, as they continue to revolutionise communications. This is just the tip of the iceberg of Telstra’s global projects underway.”
Jason Smith, Chief Operations Officer at Inmarsat said, “The launch of I-6 F1 marks a further significant step in our visionary and fully funded technology roadmap, which will see the launch of a further six satellites by 2024 and a ground network expansion like no other. This all forms part of our revolutionary new ORCHESTRA network of networks, anticipating and meeting global customer demand for the long term. The ground stations in Western Australia are a crucial part of our ambition to transform and enhance connectivity services and solutions for our mobility, government and Internet of Things customers worldwide.”
ENDS
A timelapse video of the Perth site build is available at the following link and is available as a video file on request from press@inmarsat.com.
Telstra is a leading telecommunications and technology company. We offer a full range of services and compete in all telecommunications markets in Australia, operating the largest mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Globally, we provide end-to-end solutions including managed media networks, managed network services, global connectivity, cloud, voice, colocation, conferencing and satellite solutions. We have licenses in Asia, Europe and the United States and offer access to more than 2,000 points of presence across the globe.
For more information visit www.telstra.com
About Inmarsat
Inmarsat delivers world-leading, innovative, advanced and exceptionally reliable global, mobile communications across the world – in the air, at sea and on land – that are enabling a new generation of commercial, government and mission-critical services. Inmarsat is powering the digitalisation of the maritime industry, making operations more efficient and safer than ever before. It is driving a new era of inflight passenger services for aviation, while ensuring that aircraft can fly with maximum efficiency and safety. Furthermore, Inmarsat is enabling the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) and enabling the next wave of world-changing technologies that will underpin the connected society and help build a sustainable future. And now Inmarsat is developing the first-of-its-kind, multi-dimensional communications network of the future, ORCHESTRA.
