[Satellite TODAY 03-14-13] Inmarsat has announced the appointment of Bill Peltola as senior director for Aviation Services in the Asia-Pacific region. He will be responsible for developing market opportunities for the company’s satellite-based, aviation safety services in the region, and introducing Global Xpress (GX), Inmarsat’s high-speed mobile broadband service, delivered through Ka-band.

   Inmarsat’s GX service will offer seamless global coverage with download speeds of up to 50Mbps. Services will be delivered over the company’s next generation of satellites, the Inmarsat-5s, with the first satellite scheduled for launch by the end of 2013. Global coverage is planned for the end of 2014.

   “Bill’s strong background in aviation connectivity will be put to good use in the Asia Pacific region as we expand our already broad offering with the introduction of our unique, high bandwidth aviation services. Demand for aviation connectivity is expanding rapidly in this region and his experience will be extremely valuable to our partners and their customers as we launch our first GX satellite at the end of 2013,” Miranda Mills, vice president, Aerospace, Global Xpress, said on a statement.