Gilat’s Airborne Technology
Enables Opening-up of the Chinese Ka-Band IFEC Market
and Driving a Multi-Million Dollar Market Opportunity
July 7, 2020
Gilat’s aero modem, Taurus,
is powering In-flight Entertainment and Connectivity
(IFEC) service to China’s Qingdao Airlines. The service
is provided by China Satcom, over CS-16 Ka-HTS satellite
together with its partner China TDT LINK
(contents/service provider to passengers). The whole
Ka-band IFEC system was integrated by FTS, a leading
Chinese system integrator, who received the STC/VSTC for
this IFEC early this year. This milestone of opening-up
of the Chinese Ka-band IFEC market is the driver for a
multi-million-dollar market opportunity.
The Qingdao Airlines’ A320 aircraft
has started to provide the Ka band satcom based IFEC
commercial service, after a very successful flight from
Qingdao to Chengdu on July 7, 2020, with its IFEC system
formally open to the passengers for the first time. As
of today, there are more than 3,500 commercial aircraft
operating in China and this aircraft is the first one
retrofitted with a Ka band IFEC system.
“Gilat is proud to have been
selected by our long-term partners China Satcom and FTS,
and most pleased with the joint effort of integrating
our proven IFC modem, Taurus, to enable opening of the
Chinese skies for broadband connectivity,” said Yuan Si,
China Country Manager for Gilat. “Gilat views China as a
strategic focus area, and this success marks yet another
important landmark in Gilat’s vision of enabling
plentiful quality affordable broadband connectivity
everywhere. We look forward to continued collaboration
with our strategic partners, to jointly reap the
benefits of this multi-million-dollar China IFC market.”
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