Inmarsat, Deutsche Telekom boost over-water EAN coverage

Terrestrial networks deliver high speeds and low latency. But when they include large bodies of water along the way coverage can be interrupted. Inmarsat is extending its European Aviation Network (EAN) to off-shore regions, thanks to a partnerships with energy companies and Tampnet, the networking provider that connects those installations.

With the installation of eight more antenna sites in and around the North Sea, we are proud to bring additional network capacity to an already exceptional connectivity service.

– Rolf Nafziger, Senior Vice President of Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier

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Back in 2018 the idea of putting EAN towers on oil rigs in the North Sea was well underway. Eventually a handful of the systems quietly went live, delivering air-to-ground service on the EAN network for flights between the UK and Scandinavia.

Today’s news sees three more stations being added. The two newest are being installed in offshore wind farms within the coastal waters of Germany and the Netherlands. A third is operational onshore in Norway, but still connected to the ground network via Tampnet’s extensive fiber backhaul in the region.

Read More: Shipping ATG out to sea

The new sites are located strategically to further enhance EAN’s high-speed passenger connectivity on flights in Northern Europe, including high-density flight routes between the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. They complement the 300 LTE-based ground network antenna sites already set up across Europe and will further strengthen EAN’s combined satellite and air-to-ground network performance.

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Philippe Carette, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said “The European Aviation Network is well established as the continent’s fastest inflight broadband solution, available to millions of passengers on short and medium haul flights with British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and AEGEAN. For airlines, it has played an important role in enhancing the onboard experience, unlocking new revenue opportunities and instilling greater confidence in air travel. This latest enhancement coincides with the third anniversary of the service being offered to passengers by our airline customers, with passenger usage at record highs following the pandemic.”

More on the European Aviation Network:

• Making the best of a limited bandwidth situation
• Aegean’s EAN in-flight WiFi officially goes live
• Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network wins big in ECJ ruling
• British Airways completes EAN in-flight connectivity rollout for short-haul fleet
• Vueling gets online with Inmarsat’s EAN connectivity
• SkyFive targets ATG network expansion on a global scale
• Inmarsat, British Airways launch EAN connectivity in Europe