Eutelsat in-flight connectivity
January 24, 2013
Eutelsat Communications has announced the launch of a new aeronautical mobile service called Eutelsat Air Access designed to accelerate the deployment by commercial airlines operating in Europe of in-flight connectivity for passengers. Delivering speeds of up to 100 Mbps per airliner, Eutelsat Air Access will be available from mid-2013.
The new service uses ViaSat SurfBeam 2 technology, a system for airborne connectivity using the Ka-band, and will be deployed on Eutelsat’s KA-SAT high throughput satellite which delivers a total capacity of 90 Gbps. Leveraging the high transmission speeds and bandwidth of KA-SAT, Eutelsat Air Access will allow aeronautical service providers to offer passengers top-quality Internet access, videostreaming and GSM services via tablets, smartphones and laptops. Eutelsat also has the option to add further unique ViaSat networking features for management of high-speed service levels to passengers. The service will be launched across Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, with the objective to expand the service area using other Ka-band satellites.