In-flight Connectivity Taking Off for Satellite Operators, Though Renewed ATG Competition Looms

With air travelers increasingly demanding high-speed Internet while aloft, satellite companies’ in-flight connectivity businesses are growing. "There's not enough bandwidth for all the markets we're going after," said Don Buchman, vice president of ViaSat's commercial mobility business. Air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity could start regaining some lost market share depending on how quickly the FCC moves on a Qualcomm petition for establishing an in-flight air-to-ground mobile broadband spectrum in the 14-14.5 GHz band on a secondary basis, satellite industry consultant Tim Farrar said. "It's really a critical time to see how that balance will shape up over the next five to 10 years."

In-flight connectivity is driving numerous satellite investments and developments. Inmarsat pointed to the market as a driver for its Global Xpress constellation -- the fourth satellite of which is expected to launch later this year. Panasonic last year said the number of aircraft equipped with its eXConnect system is expected to hit 1,000 in Q1. And ViaSat said last fall it expected JetBlue to have its entire U.S. fleet fully equipped with its Fly-Fi system by mid-2016, while Virgin America has begun deploying its in-flight connectivity service on its new A320 jets. ViaSat also pointed to growing in-flight services demand when it requested a modification of its aeronautical earth station blanket license from the FCC International Bureau earlier this month (see 1601110010). Last fall, Wi-Fi provider Row 44 said similar demand was driving it to seek IB approval for a modification of its existing Ku-band Earth Stations Aboard Aircraft license (see 1509290009).

“There is a lot of demand for Wi-Fi systems from customers, mostly in the long-haul category,” a Boeing spokesman told us. He said its aircraft are built for easy set-up of Wi-Fi systems after delivery to airlines.

For air passengers, “connectivity has become an expectation,” said Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup. Spectrum availability is a key issue, and while the industry currently has enough Ka- and Ku-band capacity to meet that demand, spectrum sharing -- such as through the FCC current spectrum frontiers rulemaking (see 1510230050) -- could make that a problem, Stroup said.

Due to increasingly limited ATG spectrum capacity, "Everyone's looking to 14 GHz," Farrar said. That additional spectrum "will open up new options for customers who are increasingly demanding robust Internet access," Delta Air Lines said in a filing last month in docket 13-114. "In-flight satellite service provides comparable bandwidth to that sought by the airlines in the 14 GHz band [and] opening up more spectrum ... that does not rely on satellite connectivity will not lead to safety concerns."

The 14 GHz NPRM has faced some criticisms, with satellite companies such as Intelsat and SES questioning spectrum coexistence safeguards. The FCC is ready to proceed on the action, except it’s been held up by political concerns after lobbying by flight attendants (see 1511100019), said a communications attorney. The FCC didn't comment. "We certainly hope for a favorable ruling," said Qualcomm Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Dean Brenner.

Pointing to growing consumer data consumption trends, "You'll start to see us talking about ... 25 Mbps," Buchman said. "That's what we're pushing toward," he said, saying speed tests on its in-flight network show it regularly hitting 20 to 30 Mbps. The company's ViaSat-2, scheduled to launch later this year, will give it close to 300 Gbps of capacity to sell to residential and airline customers, while ViaSat-3 will bring 1 Tbps capacity, he said. "Most major satellite operators" are similarly working on high-throughput constellations, Stroup said.