Santander Teleport in the Northern Spanish region of Cantabria. Photo: Santander Teleport 

Inmarsat will use the Santander Teleport to host and maintain a new Satellite Access Station (SAS) for its new Inmarsat-6 satellites, the two companies announced July 28. The first of which is scheduled to launch before the end of this year.

The SAS will consist of a dedicated area for a 13-meter Ka-band antenna and a second L-band antenna, a dedicated technical area to support multiple racks of equipment, and expansion capabilities for future antennas and rack equipment. The antennas will start providing services via the L-band and Ka-band Global Xpress payloads of the I-6-F2 satellite after its launch in 2022. Santander Teleport will operate the facilities and provide engineering and maintenance services to ensure operation of the Inmarsat infrastructure hosted onsite and the services relying upon it.

“Our I-6 satellites represent a key cornerstone in the ongoing expansion of our two, world-leading mobile communications networks, offering both L-band services and Ka-band (Global Xpress) services to existing and future mobility, government, and IoT customers on land, at sea, and in the air. We are delighted to partner with Santander teleport to host some of our critical I-6 ground infrastructure,” Jerome Soumagne, vice president of Networks at Inmarsat, said in a statement.