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Intelsat Makes History with Arctic Circle High-Speed Aircraft ConnectivityIntelsat, operator of one of the world's largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks and leading provider of in-flight connectivity (IFC), has completed a series of historic test flights to the Arctic Circle demonstrating that airlines that require inflight internet connectivity on long-haul flights at extreme northerly latitudes can access low-latency, high-throughput service at any point on their route map. "Airlines and their passengers have never had access to polar connectivity, but Intelsat made history as the first inflight connectivity provider to provide high-speed internet service above the Arctic Circle," said Dave Bijur, the company's senior vice president of Commercial Aviation. "This is an important region for airlines operating intercontinental flights. Thanks to Intelsat's multi-orbit satellite service and ESA antenna, millions of international passengers flying on polar routes will enjoy reliable, non-stop connectivity from gate to gate." The test flights were completed on Intelsat's test aircraft, a CRJ-700 regional jet equipped with an Electronically Steered Array (ESA) antenna. During the test flights, engineers from Intelsat and Ball Aerospace collected data necessary to understand the ESA's operations and connections with different satellite orbits at different latitudes:
Commenting on the test flight, Ben Griffin, VP Mobility at Eutelsat OneWeb said, "We congratulate Intelsat on this milestone moment, made possible by OneWeb's low Earth orbit constellation. This continuous connectivity across all routes and latitudes is a game changer for international airlines flying between East and West across the polar region. This historic flight validates the 5C's of connectivity that together OneWeb and Intelsat can deliver to our airline customer namely - coverage, capacity, connection, consistency, and community." About Intelsat Intelsat's worldwide team of professionals is focused on providing seamless and secure, satellite-based communications to government, NGO and commercial customers through the company's next-generation global network and managed services. Bridging the digital divide by operating one of the world's largest and most advanced satellite fleet and connectivity infrastructures, Intelsat enables people and their tools to speak over oceans, see across continents and listen through the skies to communicate, cooperate and coexist. Since its founding six decades ago, the company has been synonymous with satellite-industry "firsts" in service to its customers and the planet. Leaning on a legacy of innovation and focusing on addressing a new generation of challenges Intelsat team members now have their sights on the "next firsts" in space as they disrupt the field and lead in the digital transformation of the industry.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240205140901/en/ |