Chinese airline offers 100 Mb/s satellite broadband
July 10, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Qingdao Airlines, working with China Satcom and its CS-16 satellite and its High Throughput capability, is now offering its passengers in-flight entertainment and broadband speeds of more than 100 Mb/s.
An Airbus A320 flight from Qingdao to Chengdu on July 7th claimed a ‘first’ for China to use high-speed aircraft broadband and using a Ka-band satellite, and at data-rates of more than 100 Mb/s.
The airline is using Gilat’s Taurus modem and technology. “Gilat is proud to have been selected by our long-term partners China Satcom and FTS, and most pleased with the joint effort of integrating our proven IFC modem, Taurus, to enable opening of the Chinese skies for broadband connectivity,” said Yuan Si, China Country Manager for Gilat. “Gilat views China as a strategic focus area, and this success marks yet another important landmark in Gilat’s vision of enabling plentiful quality affordable broadband connectivity everywhere. We look forward to continued collaboration with our strategic partners, to jointly reap the benefits of this multi-million-dollar China IFC market.”
However, the Chinese are also working on Low Earth Orbiting satellites with input from State-run and private enterprise businesses. According to the South China Morning Post these ‘new infrastructure’ projects will receive greater governmental support.