SES WILL PROVIDE GLOBAL EAGLE ENTERTAINMENT WITH BANDWIDTH FOR IN-FLIGHT CONNECTIVITY
BETZDORF, Luxembourg - Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE), a provider of connectivity and digital media solutions to airlines, and SES SA have signed an agreement, whereby SES will provide global, Ku-band satellite bandwidth to GEE for use in its in-flight connectivity system. As part of the long-term agreement, GEE and SES will work together to enable in-flight connectivity solutions to be provided to airlines around the world.
The agreement includes access to the existing SES network, as well as to upcoming high throughput satellite (HTS) spot beam-based systems. It also includes both satellite capacity as well as teleport services.
Airlines represent an important growth opportunity for satellite operators. Airlines are hoping to increase their appeal to customers by providing Wi-Fi in cabins. An early provider of these services in the U.S. is Gogo LLC. Initially, Gogo used only cell phone towers to provide airlines such as Delta with Wi-Fi. However, in an attempt to provide services around the world and to increase capacity, many airlines and Wi-Fi providers are turning to satellites. Airlines such as United, Southwest, and JetBlue plan to have Wi-Fi on their entire fleets of aircraft in the future.
SES has a large fleet of satellites that cover the globe, making it an ideal candidate to provide in-flight connectivity services. SES satellites can provide services to airliners wherever they fly.