Sept.
15, 2015
ViaSat Inc. announced it
entered into a new technical agreement with The Boeing
Company. The agreement initiates the evaluation process
for airlines to specify installation of the ViaSat
in-flight Wi-Fi® connectivity system on
Boeing Commercial airplanes.
ViaSat offers the fastest
in-flight internet speeds – typically 8 to 10 times
faster – than any other in-flight Wi-Fi system available
today. Under the terms of this new agreement, ViaSat's
Ka-band airborne satellite terminal will be evaluated as
a factory option for Boeing aircraft prior to delivery,
enabling airplanes to come off the line with ViaSat
connectivity ready for immediate service. This would
allow airlines to avoid costly down-time involved with
taking planes out of service for post-production
retrofits and ensures that from day one, each passenger
and flight crew member gets a best-in-class in-flight
internet experience with the industry's only service
level agreement, regardless of how many devices are
connected on the plane or how many planes are on the
network.
"Our agreement with Boeing is
an important milestone giving our airline customers the
ability to get the best onboard Wi-Fi system delivered
with their new aircraft," said
Don Buchman, vice
president and general manager, Commercial Mobility at
ViaSat. "By selecting ViaSat in-flight communications
for Boeing's fleet, airlines now can differentiate their
in-flight internet service with a flexible, sustainable
business model that will continue to create value as
more passengers use the service."
John Craig, chief
engineer of Cabin and Network Systems for Boeing
Commercial Airplanes continued, "In initiating the
evaluation process with long-time partner ViaSat, we now
look to add ViaSat airborne terminals to our line-fit
factory options. This will give Boeing's commercial
airline customers a new cost- and time-effective
high-bandwidth connectivity choice for their airplanes."
ViaSat's in-flight internet
service has won more industry awards in the past
12-months than any other system, including the Crystal
Cabin Award, Excellence in Avionics Award, the
Via Satellite Excellence Award and the APEX Avion Award.
The service operates on nearly 500 aircraft with
unmatched in-flight Wi-Fi quality, performance and
scale, allowing airlines to provide a
highly-differentiated in-flight experience that gives
passengers and crew members access to high-speed web
browsing, streaming media and productivity applications.
