Inmarsat unveiled plans for ORCHESTRA, the communications network of the future. In the largest ever transformation of its current services, Inmarsat ORCHESTRA will bring together existing geosynchronous (GEO) satellites with low Earth orbit satellites (LEO) and terrestrial 5G into an integrated, high-performance solution.

Whether for a ship in a crowded port, an aircraft preparing to land at LAX or a defense force deployed in a remote location, ORCHESTRA is designed to meet evolving connectivity needs in the mobility market.

ORCHESTRA will open up a host of new and previously unattainable possibilities for industries across the world. New services include close-shore navigation for autonomous vessels, next-generation emergency safety services for maritime crews, secure and tactical private networks for governments and direct-to-cloud connections for airlines. New segments set to benefit from ORCHESTRA include energy rigs and drilling platforms, mid-market business aircraft, coastal vessels, smart passenger ships and urban air mobility.

The network will benefit from “dynamic mesh” technology, which allows individual customer terminals to direct traffic to and from other customer terminals. This means that a ship within reach of a 5G ground station can receive ample capacity for its own needs as well as route capacity onward to other vessels beyond terrestrial reach. This effectively creates a mobile web of terminals that extend the network’s reach and improve its performance and resilience.

The initial five-year (2021 to 2026) total investment for ORCHESTRA is expected to be in the order of $100 million.

Learn more here.