Just as digitalization and connectivity have modernized the maritime sector, driving operational efficiencies and environmental benefits, Eva Birgitte Bisgaard, the president of Eutelsat’s Connectivity Business Unit, sees the aviation industry as ripe for transformation now that Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and especially multi-orbit broadband inflight connectivity solutions are being adopted by airlines.

Having spent nearly two decades in the telco world, followed by a several-year stint as chief commercial officer of shipping solutions pioneer Maersk Tankers — where she drove digital engagement with partners and customers — Bisgaard in January 2026 was appointed to helm the Eutelsat connectivity business and to serve on the Group’s strategy-defining Executive Committee.

Sitting down with RGN for a virtual interview just a few months into her tenure, Bisgaard noted that “there is nothing more important in modern life right now than energy or connectivity. I mean, basically without one, systems stop, and without the two, they break down.”

Against this backdrop, Bisgaard said it has become apparent that the discussion in aviation has shifted from “how can we ensure that there is free inflight connectivity for the passengers or how can we secure crew welfare, to something which is much larger because it suddenly becomes about the operational systems.”

Treating every connected aircraft as a node on an airline’s network and driving operational benefits has long been desired in industry. And some carriers have made important gains in this regard (consider the foundational work of this year’s Crystal Cabin Award winner in the IFEC & Digital Services category, Delta Air Lines with its Connected Onboard Platform, which improves reliability and enables smarter service.)

Critical infrastructure

But now, with the advent of low-latency non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) broadband satcom on long-haul and over-ocean routes, and indeed with the exceptionally strong polar coverage of Eutelsat’s own OneWeb LEO constellation, IFC is poised to better support advanced weather and route optimization applications on pilots’ electronic flight bags, enhance reliability and crew situational awareness, power real-time aircraft health monitoring, support secure payments and even enable airlines to monetize in ways never before achieved, in addition to transforming the passenger experience.

The OEMs are on board. For example, Airbus’ connected aircraft vision would be an extension of its customers’ digital ecosystem “where all the data flows seamlessly between what happens in the cabin, between the operation, ATC system and the third parties,” the airframer previously explained to RGN.

“And so,” Bisgaard said, “that is really the big shift that we’ve been seeing” as connectivity “becomes critical infrastructure.”

Resiliency and data security

Some industry stakeholders would like to see regulators give their blessing for the removal of HF pipes from aircraft and — as an alternative to utilizing a second safety services-approved L-band radio network — employ a ‘dual-independent KSAT solution’ instead. While it isn’t yet clear if this particular use case will advance, or at what pace, Bisgaard stressed that as broadband IFC becomes critical infrastructure, and reliance on Ku- and Ka-band satcom grows, there is a heightened need for resiliency and data security.

Providing crucial back-up in the event of a network outage or satellite anomaly, or indeed when LEO landing rights haven’t been secured in a particular country, multi-orbit IFC solutions, such as those that combine LEO with GEO, MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) service with LEO or MEO and GEO are “a key enabler” to providing resiliency, Bisgaard said. “And it doesn’t really matter what kind of multi-orbit we’re talking about here.”

She added:

You would never connect a big data center with a single fiber line. You would always make sure that you have capacity from two different sources. And I think, for me, that is what I love about when we do multi-orbit… And that is, for me, what exactly needs to be done.

Bisgaard is also enthused about the prospect that a multi-vendor ‘least cost routing‘ approach will emerge in aviation.

Utilizing a B2B model that sees it work with various integrators and service providers, Paris-based Eutelsat has long provided Ku- and Ka-band satellite capacity for a variety of GEO-specific IFC solutions in the market. Its OneWeb LEO satcom service is also now powering the LEO portion of electronically steerable antenna (ESA)-based multi-orbit LEO/GEO IFC offerings from SES and Panasonic Avionics, both of which are now in revenue service with airlines.

When Eutelsat talks to airlines “and yes, we are in there actually with our partners, SES and Panasonic and even Gogo because we also do business jets,” Bisgaard noted, the importance of resiliency and security are stressed. She reckons that both topics will soon be even more closely scrutinized by regulators, especially around compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) “because we’ve seen it with the telcos…

“As soon as something becomes more commoditized, which satellite connectivity is becoming, then it does get to a higher level of scrutiny about both how you build in and how you set up your data security levels, but also how you need to secure your resiliency.”

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Starlink had updated its global privacy policy to note that it is training AI with users’ data (unless customers adjust account settings to opt out). Bisgaard sees this sort of disclosure as the reason for more vigilance.

“I think making sure that you know where your data goes if you’re actually trying to operate a flight, and even securing your passengers’ personal data does actually become important,” she said.

“And I don’t know that it is a thing that is being heavily discussed as of now, but I think it’s going to be really important going forward, because it [IFC] is now critical.”

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• How Airbus is working to facilitate Delta Air Lines’ IFC vision
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Featured image credited to Eutelsat