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The new Inmarsat Global Xpress (GX) network is now commercially available. It is the first truly high-speed satellite-based broadband network to span the globe. This extremely fast Ka-band constellation offers all business sectors the opportunity to utilise a portable or fixed satellite service with download speeds up to 50 megabits per second and uploads of up to 5 megabits per second. This service is now available globally and has the unique ability to deliver seamless broadband connectivity regardless of position.

Inmarsat Global Xpress services are available for land-, sea-, and air-based applications from each of the three source satellites. The services offered also integrate seamlessly with the Inmarsat I-4 services (FBB, BGAN, SBB etc.) to provide multi-layered resilient support for the most critical and demanding applications. A fourth GX satellite is under construction and is planned for launch in late in 2016 to provide additional in-orbit capacity.

How is it charged?

There are a multitude of different call plans and tariffs based on the differing needs of your customers and business sectors. They range from monthly “all-you-can-eat” plans to ones that simply provide a small amount of connectivity. Typical Inmarsat Global Xpress packages range from 75MB to 40GB per month of included usage, and there is also a plan for unlimited access for a single monthly fee. There may be further service charges for additional IP data, voice minutes, fax minutes, and SMS.

It’s a rich set of offerings designed to appeal to many customers in many different sectors. To handle all the various permutations effectively and to offer the most attractive service packages to your end-customers, you’re going to need a satellite air-time billing solution that is flexible and easy to use, and one with a proven track record in handling and adapting to changing services, packages and allowances.

SATbill and Global Xpress: the perfect match

SATbill offers support for all the current and planned GX service offerings, whether you purchase them direct from Inmarsat or via an intermediary. Combined with SATbill’s full support for all existing I-3 and I-4-based services, it gives you the opportunity to run a single integrated billing platform, thus reducing your workload and improving the level of service and information you can provide to your end-customers. SATbill also handles all Thuraya, Iridium, Globalstar and VSAT services (and terrestrial services too), giving you and your customers a truly integrated billing solution.