Viasat Inc., a global communications company, and Honeywell announced today an expanded agreement where Honeywell, as part of its GoDirect™ Cabin Connectivity suite of services, will offer Viasat’s high-speed Ka-band in-flight internet service to large and mid-cabin business jet customers.
Viasat’s Ka-band service is proven to support more passengers and more devices simultaneously through all phases of flight, when performing bandwidth-intensive applications, including accessing virtual private networks, or streaming high-definition (HD) video calls, cloud content or live TV entertainment.
By offering Viasat’s service, GoDirect customers can:
- Conduct business or experience entertainment at 40,000 feet, as they do on the ground. The capacity offered through Viasat’s Ka-band network enables all passengers onboard to efficiently conduct business, or enjoy cloud-based entertainment—at any altitude and at faster speeds with the industry’s current fastest speeds offered on all plans, regardless of data allowance.
- Watch live streaming TV with minimal-to-no impact on the data plan. Business jet owners and their passengers will be able to view live TV news and sports with an additional subscription without impact to the data plan or the need for a separate antenna.
- Have high-speed in-flight internet virtually anywhere. For business jet travelers interested in the best global primary and backup connectivity service, Viasat’s Ku-band service, available via GoDirect, includes global Ku-band data on all Ka-band plans 40 GB and larger–at no additional service cost. This high-value service will be available for aircraft properly equipped with Viasat’s dual-band, Ka-/Ku-band shipset.
Viasat’s business aviation in-flight internet service will tap into the industry’s highest-capacity, most reliable Ka-band satellite communications network. It will also use Viasat’s most robust business-class shipset, the Global Aero Terminal 5510.
“Whether connecting for business or pleasure, we’re proving on more than 2,000 Viasat Ka-band equipped flights daily that internet speeds and performance can be comparable in the air and the ground,” said Jerry Goodwin, vice president, Global Network Services, Viasat. “By expanding our partnership with GoDirect we’re bringing a new internet service quality to the business aviation market. We’re enabling more business jet owners to be productive and access the applications they need and want in densely populated airspace, at the speeds and reliability they expect.”
Availability
GoDirect will offer the Viasat Ka-band and dual-band service to new Viasat customers, as well as their current Viasat Ku-band customers interested in migrating to or adding Viasat Ka-band service. Certified units of the Viasat Ka-band shipset will be available for several business jet airframes in the second half of 2018.
To learn more about the full suite of GoDirect Cabin Connectivity offerings, visit the GoDirect Cabin Connectivity page.
About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people’s lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea. To learn more about Viasat, visit: www.viasat.com, go to Viasat’s Corporate Blog, or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward looking statements include statements about the partnership between ViaSat and Honeywell GoDirect Cabin Services; the performance, speed, size, certifications and availability of the Global Aero Terminal 5510 shipset; and the service offerings, speed, capacity, cost and other features of the GoDirect Cabin Connectivity suite of services. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: contractual problems, product defects, manufacturing issues or delays, regulatory issues, technologies not being developed according to anticipated schedules, or that do not perform according to expectations; Viasat’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the ViaSat-1, ViaSat-2 and ViaSat-3 satellite platforms; unexpected expenses or delays related to the satellite systems; the ability to successfully implement Viasat’s business plan for broadband satellite services on Viasat’s anticipated timeline or at all, including with respect to the ViaSat-1, ViaSat-2 and ViaSat-3 satellite platforms; risks associated with the construction, launch and operation of Viasat’s satellites, including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or degradation in satellite performance; and increased competition and other factors affecting the business aviation market generally. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in Viasat’s SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including Viasat’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Viasat undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.
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