SkyFive, Akses Prima Team for IFC in Indonesia

A new air-to-ground inflight internet option is coming to Indonesia. SkyFive and Akses Prima Indonesia (API) will partner to bring the service online, offering a new connectivity option in the largest airline passenger market in Southeast Asia.

We are excited to bring A2G to the fast- growing airline market in Asia-Pacific with such an experienced and focused partner. Indonesia, with its dense airspace and digitally savvy population that expects to be connected everywhere, is an ideal area for our solution from both a technical and a commercial perspective.

Thorsten Robrecht, Chief Executive Officer of SkyFive

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The collaboration will see a SkyFive network backed by API’s local telecommunications expertise, come online across the archipelago. The network will be deployed initially to cover a high-traffic city pair. This is expected before the end of the year. Once the functionality is successfully demonstrated the companies intend to expand the offering across the full airspace.

Spanning more than three thousand miles east to west, Indonesia presents significant geographical challenges in bringing the service online. SkyFive will address those, however, including using long-range technologies to ensure even the longest overwater segments will be covered.

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SkyFive also notes that the system will use the same technology as ATG networks in Saudi Arabia and Europe. No planes are expected to roam that far, at least not today. But the approach demonstrates the ability to build a connectivity solution bit by bit to cover broader areas.

An interesting connectivity history

Indonesia has an interesting history with connectivity.

Mahata Aero Technology tried to finance the installation of Inmarsat’s GX service on Citilink. That seemed to be working well enough for the associated companies, right up until the revenue reporting structure was deemed a violation of Indonesian finance rules. Since then, little effort has been seen to bring connectivity to short-haul aircraft in the region.

Obviously API and SkyFive see potential, much like was tapped in Saudi Arabia for that ATG network to come online. When and how that potential is realized remains to be seen.