Viasat secures installation approval in China

Viasat received a big boost in China. The company’s in-flight connectivity hardware solution received a Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Validation of Supplemental Type Certificate (VSTC) to install on the Airbus A320 family of aircraft.

Achieving the CAAC validation milestone in China is significant because Chinese-based airlines, using our best-in-class equipment, are now a step closer to delivering an on-the-ground internet experience to their passengers while in-flight.

– Don Buchman, Viasat’s vice president and general manager, Commercial Aviation

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The certification is Viasat’s first in China, a major milestone as the company continues to pursue providing Ka-band connectivity services in the country. It builds on a partnership established with China Satcom in 2019 and which has evolved over the past three years.

Read more: Ka-band inflight connectivity goes live in China

With the VSTC in hand Chinese airlines can now move forward with installation and deployment of Viasat’s industry-leading In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) system, including antenna, radome, modem, server and WAPs, on Airbus A320s.

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With the hardware certified, Viasat can now work to expand its direct relationships with Chinese airlines. That is a market dominated by Panasonic Avionics for long-haul service today. On domestic or regional international routes the connectivity market is near nil. Just one airline has Ka-band service active and the success of that deployment is unclear.

Viasat previously activated coverage for its non-Chinese customers flying over China thanks to capacity from the ChinaSat-16 satellite. Additional capacity is expected online by mid-decade with the planned ViaSat-3 Asia-Pacific satellite.

More on Viasat in China:

• Viasat activates coverage over China
• Viasat, China Satcom partner for Ka-band connectivity over China