Passengers flying across the Pacific Ocean are set for a major upgrade in inflight connectivity performance. Panasonic Avionics and Eutelsat announced this week that Eutelsat 172b is now in service, delivering a massive increase in…
Qatar Airways brings connectivity gate to gate
Qatar Airways is opening up its inflight wifi connectivity solution for gate-to-gate services. The move comes on the heels of a policy update from the Qatar's Communications Regulatory Authority permitting the use of inflight services…
Google’s "inflight wifi play" brings questions, not answers
Can Google parent Alphabet disrupt the inflight wifi connectivity market? Reports last week – first from Bloomberg then others – suggest that Alphabet is looking hard at pieces of Nokia's operations, with an eye on…
Eutelsat goes big on Ka-band, dumps ViaSat-3
Eutelsat is investing big in Ka-band capacity over Europe. The satellite operator announced KONNECT VHTS today, a 500 gigabit/second satellite to be built by Thales Alenia Space and which is expected to enter service in…
The Hi Fly A380 is real!
Earlier this year the A380 assembly line received a stay of execution thanks to a new Emirates order. Today the second-hand market for the type officially launched, with Portuguese charter carrier Hi Fly confirming plans…
Big order wins, financial losses for Global Eagle’s…
The write-offs for Global Eagle in 2017 are significant. The company reported its year-end financials this week and included a non-cash impairment charge of $184 million in the connectivity segment. That represented more than half…
SmartSky goes after the little guys with LiTE…
Smaller aircraft flying over the USA officially have options for inflight wifi connectivity. After securing the necessary STC and PMA certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year upstart provider SmartSky officially launched its…
Gilat goes cuckoo for Ku-Ka
Trade shows bring out new hardware launches and the recent Satellite Show 2018 was no exception. Among the many vendors showing off new wares, Israeli inflight connectivity hardware provider Gilat launched its AeroEdge 6000 dual-band…
New Chairman, CEO, funding for Global Eagle
After taking nearly a year to unwind the complexity of its financials following a string of acquisitions Global Eagle is finally ready to move forward on executing its plan. To that end the content, connectivity,…