LONDON - British satellite operator Inmarsat said it would launch a major upgrade to its L-band services to offer faster speeds and smaller low-cost terminals for its air, land and sea customers, and open up new opportunities in the Internet of Things (IOT).

Called ELERA, the narrowband network will use spectrum management technology to boost speeds up to 1.7Mbps, the company said on Thursday, up to four times existing levels and beating rival global L-band networks.

It will be supported by the two new I-6 satellites, ordered from Airbus in 2015, with the first scheduled to launch at the end of this year and both in commercial service in the second quarter of 2023.

Inmarsat's competitors include U.S. company Iridium Communications.

  - Reuters