While growing demand for Wi-Fi on planes is a significant growth opportunity for satellite capacity providers, the pandemic has held back its upward climb alongside a decline in air travel.
However, the inflight connectivity (IFC) market is preparing for some major lift as air traffic fast approaches pre-pandemic levels.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), global air traffic — as measured in revenue per passenger kilometer — recently reached 96% of May 2019 levels.
The return of airline passengers comes as IFC providers are also overcoming the technical challenges, cost issues, and capacity shortages that have been dragging on the market and the speeds they can provide.
Wi-Fi on planes is now on the verge of speeds comparable on the ground, according to John Wade, vice president of inflight connectivity business at Panasonic Avionics.
One of the largest IFC providers serving airlines that cover most of the world’s flight routes, Panasonic Avionics announced plans in August to lease 50% more capacity from geostationary orbit (GEO) to boost its capabilities by the end of this year.
Next year, the company plans to bring in low-latency services in partnership with OneWeb’s low Earth orbit (LEO) network.
SpaceX’s Starlink, Viasat, Intelsat, Hughes Network Systems, SES, Telesat, Gogo, and Anuvu are also racing to meet demand for keeping people connected in the air. Most also operate their own satellites, contributing to a glut of capacity that is driving down its price.
The IFC market is a tremendous opportunity, but the number of players in it is unsustainable, says Wade, who previously worked at Intelsat and Gogo before joining Panasonic Avionics last year.
SpaceNews spoke with Wade to find out why Panasonic Avionics feels now is the time to go all-in with satellite capacity.
Has IFC…
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