US low-cost airline JetBlue Airways has announced it entered a memorandum of understanding with satellite broadband specialist ViaSat to install broadband internet and TV services on JetBlue’s 160 aircraft.
The services will be launched using ViaSat’s…
US low-cost airline JetBlue Airways has announced it entered a memorandum of understanding with satellite broadband specialist ViaSat to install broadband internet and TV services on JetBlue’s 160 aircraft.
The services will be launched using ViaSat’s Ka-band satellites and will be integrated by LiveTV, a subsidiary of JetBlue which already provides live television on JetBlue’s fleet. The system is expected to start by mid-2012 but it first needs to be tested and certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
After Aircell, Row 44, and Panasonic Avionics, ViaSat is the latest company to announce its intention to foray into the in-flight broadband market. Aircell focuses on air-to-ground (ATG) in-flight Wi-Fi using a network of terrestrial cellular towers.
However, this is limited to domestic flights and the company has increasingly looked at the possibility of using satellite capacity to offer international services. When AeroMobile entered administration, Aircell had been linked as a potential bidder.
Row 44, which uses Ku-band antennas that communicate with geostationary satellites within the Hughes Network Systems global satellite infrastructure, launched last year a walled-garden service called Skytown Center, the world’s first ad-supported in-flight Wi-Fi solution.
Panasonic Avionics Corporation, which also uses a Kuband system, is in partnership with Lufthansa that may see the re-launch of the ‘FlyNet’ service offering in-flight internet and mobile phone connections. The German airline is expected to use its existing onboard hardware installed in 2003 by Connexion by Boeing, an in-flight online internet connectivity service from Boeing which collapsed in 2006.
If approved by the FAA, JetBlue’s in-flight Wi-Fi system may therefore be the first to use Ka-band satellites. Some media reports argue that with Ka-band satellite capacity being slightly cheaper than Ku-band satellite capacity, JetBlue may be tempted to make the service free for customers and therefore differentiate itself from its rivals.
However, infrastructure costs also needs to be taken into account, and JetBlue may still have to pay up to US$20m for setting up the Wi-Fi system on board its fleet, estimates Michael Planey, an airline technology consultant at H&M Planey Consultants.
Despite this cost, offering free Wi-Fi would be in line with JetBlue’s existing strategy as the company already provides the service on its Beta Blue plane, explains Planey. Currently, prices for in-flight broadband can reach up to US$13 for flights longer than three hours within North America, which can often deter passengers from using those services.
In the statement, JetBlue and ViaSat said they are looking to sign a definitive agreement before the end of this calendar year.
