JetBlue Airways (New York)ย has signed a contract with Aviation Technical Services (ATS) for the Washington state-based company to install super-fast next-generation Ka-band satellite Wi-Fi technology on JetBlue’s fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.
The agreement covers up to 130 A320 aircraft at ATS’s maintenance facility in Everett, Washington. Additional Ka-band installations will be accomplished at JetBlue’s LiveTV subsidiary in Orlando. The technology was designed by LiveTV, which will be conducting training and technical support to ATS to ensure a quality installation. All Airbus A320 installations are expected to be completed by the end of 2014.
Fly-Fi, JetBlue’s brand for wireless inflight internet, will use satellite-based connectivity, while most other carriers use ground-based systems, known as Ku-band. Subsequently, JetBlue’s Fly-Fi system is expected to be significantly faster than others.
Ka-band is the next generation of high-bandwidth satellite technology, with eight times more bandwidth than Ku-band. Ka-band satellites are better suited to support high-throughput capacity that cannot be met by more congested Ku-band frequencies. Ka-band also allows smaller end-user antennas.
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N566JB (msn 2042) in the Bubbles scheme arrives at Long Beach.
JetBlue Airways:ย 
You must be logged in to post a comment.