Electronically steered antennas will be a major part of the next generation of connectivity for the business aviation world. Both Satcom Direct and Gogo made progress on that front this week, offering updates to their terminal development and testing.
Satellite
Viasat issues type certification for Satcom Direct Plane Simple Ka-band terminal
Satcom Direct received type certification of the Plane Simple Ka-band terminal for Viasat’s Jet ConneX inflight internet service, moving a step closer to installation of the latest hardware on business jets.
NetJets plans IFC upgrades with Gogo
NetJets will upgrade the inflight internet service on more than 450 aircraft as part of a contract extension with Gogo.
Evolving inflight connectivity: Viasat takes on the art of passenger engagement
Viasat turned in another quarter of revenue growth, driven by mobility. Further growth will depend, among other things, on helping airlines better deliver the services to passengers.
Intelsat celebrates arctic LEO/GEO testing with Utqiagvik visit
A visit to Alaska’s North Slope in mid-December gave Intelsat the opportunity to demonstrate the multi-orbit functionality of its new electronically steered antenna (ESA) terminal and multi-orbit connectivity strategy.
OneWeb activation slips, dragging Eutelsat revenues
Deployment of the OneWeb network continues to slip, but new parent Eutelsat remains confident in the longer-term revenue potential.
Swiss, Lufthansa, Austrian set for EAN inflight internet installs
It is a move more than eight years in the making: Lufthansa Group is set to install Viasat’s European Aviation Network (EAN) inflight connectivity solution on its fleet.
Dragging the competition
Bolting a radome atop an aircraft means more weight, more drag, more fuel burn, and higher emissions. Those are all things airlines typically try to minimize. Which makes some recent conversations about drag differences all the more interesting.
STCs show signs of progress
When it comes to tracking connectivity installations, sometimes regulators share the most useful insights. Taking a look at which STCs have (and have not) been issued lately offers up some details on a few key programs across the industry.
Iridium de-risks LEO-based direct-to-device with Project Stardust
Iridium plans to deliver direct-to-handset communications from its global LEO constellation to cell phones around the world by 2026, choosing open standards rather than its prior proprietary approach.