Viasat Receives Supplemental Type Certificate to Provide High-Speed In-Flight Connectivity on Gulfstream G650 and G650ER Large Cabin Business Jets
CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced its business aviation in-flight connectivity (IFC) system received Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., certifying the use of its Ka-band IFC system on the Gulfstream G650(TM) and Gulfstream G650ER(TM) business jets. When combined with its prior FAA STC for the Viasat Ku-band system, Gulfstream operators get a powerful tail-mounted Dual-band (Ka-Ku) service offering.
A premium Ka-band IFC experience
Receiving the Ka-band STC ensures passengers and crew flying on Gulfstream's G650 and G650ER receive a premium cabin internet experience over the most heavily traveled flight routes. Viasat's expanding Ka-band coverage combined with its recent announcement of no speed caps across all Ka-band service plans, will allow Gulfstream G650 and G650ER operators to experience home-like performance in the sky with the fastest available download speeds in the large cabin business jet segment. This in turn will enable passengers and crew to simultaneously enjoy data-rich, business-critical productivity and entertainment apps from video-conferencing and accessing VPN/cloud content to email, high-definition streaming services, live TV and more.
Viasat recently removed internet speed limits delivered to the aircraft across all of its business aviation Ka-band service plans. The move represents an industry-first and provides an entirely new premium IFC experience for its Ka-band and hybrid (Dual-band) business jet customers. The new service plans offer uncapped speeds made possible by the world's highest-capacity satellite network combined with Viasat's compact and lightweight hardware. In recent Ka-band speed tests, customers have seen 40 Mbps and higher across the new service plans, allowing for a more enriched in-flight connectivity experience.
Optimizing IFC experiences with Dual-band connectivity
The new Ka-band FAA STC now makes the Dual-band IFC experience a reality for Gulfstream G650 and G650ER operators. Announced in 2015, Viasat's Ku-band system has been available across both aircraft types, but now when combined with Viasat's FAA-approved Ka-band system, Gulfstream G650 and G650ER operators will be able to take advantage of Viasat's Ka-band system performance and reliability along with the reach of its global Ku-band network, which will allow an aircraft to leverage the ability to shift between networks, utilizing Ku-band to supplement Ka-band services.
"Combining our Ka- and Ku-band solutions will allow passengers aboard the Gulfstream G650 and G650ER to experience the fastest cabin internet speeds available in business aviation," said Claudio D'Amico, business area director, Business Aviation, Viasat. "As a result, Gulfstream's longest-range jet passengers and crew will be able to simultaneously experience high-speed internet connections for streaming high-quality content and accessing critical business and entertainment applications. We believe that Viasat's industry-leading connectivity combined with Gulfstream's performance standard creates tremendous value."
The STC is for Viasat's Global Aero Terminal 5510, which taps into the ViaSat-1, ViaSat-2 and European Ka-band satellite platform, and is expected to be forward-compatible with Viasat's next-generation satellite systems. Forward-compatibility will allow customers to install the Viasat shipset and subscribe to a Viasat service package today, and be able to access additional satellite capacity, including larger data volumes, expanded coverage, and higher speeds once Viasat launches its ViaSat-3 satellite constellation.
Availability
Available today, Gulfstream large cabin G650 and G650ER business jet customers can deploy either the Viasat Ka-band, Ku-band or the Dual-band IFC systems.
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 Statements
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 experience passengers and crew can expect on Gulfstream G650 and G650ER aircraft; the IFC experience, benefits and capabilities that result from Viasat's elimination of speed limits; and the forward compatibility, benefits and capabilities of Global Aero Terminal 5510 or the capabilities achieved through its business aviation Dual-band IFC system. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: our ability to successfully implement our business plan for our broadband services on our anticipated timeline or at all; risks associated with the construction, launch and operation of satellites, including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or degradation in satellite performance; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, suppliers, consumers, customers, and employees or the overall economy; 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, and increased competition and other factors affecting the aviation sector 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.
Copyright © 2020 Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved. Viasat, the Viasat logo and the Viasat signal are registered trademarks of Viasat, Inc. All other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Viasat, Inc.
