Business aviation communication provider Satcom Direct announced today that it validated its services over Inmarsat’s new Ka-band Global Xpress network, which is expected to be available by year-end. With speeds of up to 50 Mbps, Jet ConneX—the business aviation version of Global Xpress—will deliver global satcom services that support high-data-rate applications in flight, including streaming videos and real-time video calls.

To verify functionality of its aero network and software services over the Inmarsat-5 satellite network, Satcom Direct provisioned a Global Xpress land terminal. The test was conducted at Satcom Direct’s facility at Farnborough, UK, using the initial satellite, currently in service over Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

“The next-generation satellite networks are going to advance airborne data speeds in a significant way,” said Satcom Direct founder and CEO Jim Jensen. “Being the first in business aviation to prove our technologies over Inmarsat’s Ka-band network demonstrates that…we’re preparing for the future.”

Honeywell is the exclusive reseller of GX Aviation airtime and hardware for business aviation and it is working with distribution partners to sell GX Aviation services to business aviation end-users. These partners include Aircell, Arinc Direct, OnAir, Satcom1 and Satcom Direct.