Satellite broadband specialist ViaSat has bought the SkyLink broadband internet service from transport communications provider ARINC, adding new business jet customers to its Yonder network.
Yonder, which was created in 2007, is a mobile Ku-band…
Satellite broadband specialist ViaSat has bought the SkyLink broadband internet service from transport communications provider ARINC, adding new business jet customers to its Yonder network.
Yonder, which was created in 2007, is a mobile Ku-band satellite that provides internet services to business jets. SkyLink provides similar services but, according to Telstra, the new customers under the Yonder network will benefit from an expanded coverage area.
A spokesman for ViaSat declined to comment on the financial terms of the deal. However, he stated that “there was no adviser involved as it mainly is an acquisition of a customer base and consideration between the companies for service revenues/costs.”
The company explained that this transaction adds about 80 private business jets to the Yonder network. “Service is continuous for all SKYLink customers during the transition. About 5-10 customers are already moved under the ViaSat Yonder service, with the target for the transition to be complete in six months,” said the spokesman.
This is the second time, in just a few weeks, that ViaSat announces its expansion in the in-flight broadband market. The company has indeed signed a deal with US low-cost airline JetBlue Airways 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).
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 argued 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.
In the meantime, ViaSat is expected to launch its ViaSat-1 satellite in the first half of 2011. To be launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the Ka-band spot beam satellite will provide broadband internet services to customers and businesses across North America. ViaSat claims that its new satellite is expected to be the highest capacity of all current and planned North American satellites with 10 times the throughput of any other Ka-band satellite.
