In-flight broadband and content provider Global Eagle Entertainment has signed a ten-year capacity lease agreement with SES giving it access to the latter’s global, Ku-band satellite bandwidth. The deal enables GEE to offer global connectivity…
In-flight broadband and content provider Global Eagle Entertainment has signed a ten-year capacity lease agreement with SES giving it access to the latter’s global, Ku-band satellite bandwidth.
The deal enables GEE to offer global connectivity coverage and gives the company access to both SES’ existing satellite network and its upcoming high throughput satellite spot beam-based systems.
Under the framework agreement, GEE will shift all of its current capacity requirements to SES. The company has previously used several different satellite operators around the world.
The agreement also requires GEE to make an up-front pre-payment and two additional pre-payments each upon the achievement of certain milestones relating to future capacity services developed by SES. The additional pre-payments will be applied to certain service fees as they become due, and will be paid no earlier than 30 June 2015 and 1 January 2016, respectively.
The framework agreement is also subject to the approval by SES’s board of directors no later than 31 March 2015.
Aditya Chatterjee, chief technology officer at GEE, commented: “We see this as the beginning of a strong strategic partnership between SES and GEE that enables us to broaden our in-flight connectivity capabilities to airline customers. The demand for in-flight connectivity has never been greater, particularly with airlines looking to serve passengers and drive ancillary revenue.”
Ferdinand Kayser, SES’ chief commercial officer, added: “The aeronautical mobility sector is a key target market for SES and is poised for strong growth in the coming years. This important agreement delivers a tailored solution for GEE’s global aero connectivity needs, and provides an extended base for GEE’s widely enjoyed service to travellers.”
GEE was formed in 2012 following the US$430m acquisition of satellite-based in-flight broadband service provider Row 44 and German in-flight entertainment solutions firm Advanced Inflight Alliance (AIA).
It has since made a number of bolt-on acquisitions to improve its content delivery, most recently purchasing the content assets of South Indian distributor Purple Entertainment for an undisclosed sum.
In September, GEE announced details of its plan to achieve savings from the continuing integration of its acquired businesses, including Row 44, AIA, IFE Services and Post Modern Edit.
The integration plan is expected to generate aggregate annualised savings of roughly US$10m and to be substantially complete in the first half of 2015.
