[Satellite TODAY Insider 10-20-10] ViaSat has acquired the SkyLink airborne broadband service from Arinc and has added SkyLink’s business jet customers to the ViaSat Yonder high-speed Internet access network, ViaSat announced Oct. 19.
    ViaSat said its service partner, Satcom Direct, has been helping the operator transition the new customers to the Yonder network, hinting that the deal has been in development over the past few months. The acquisition adds about 80 private business jets to the Yonder network and increases the satellite capacity of ViaSat’s network.
    “We want to ensure that the transition between the SkyLink and Yonder services is seamless. Arinc has continued to operate a portion of the network under the Yonder brand while all details of the transition are carried out,” ViaSat Director for Global Service Steve Chacko said in a statement.
The Yonder IP Internet service is powered by ViaSat mobile Ku-band and aims to provide former SkyLink customers with cable modem-like connectivity performance with data download speeds of 1 to 2 Mbps and upload speeds of 128 to 1,024 kbps. ViaSat said it will target business jet customers with the ability to send and receive high-speed data, connect to a virtual private network, use VoIP equipment for voice calls, and access the Internet using portable devices via an in-cabin Wi-Fi network.
    The acquisition is ViaSat’s second major maneuver in the commercial in-flight connectivity market over the past month. The operator officially entered the market Sept. 22 under a non-binding agreement with JetBlue Airways to install ViaSat satellite broadband connectivity on JetBlue’s entire 160-aircraft fleet.   
    ViaSat will provide JetBlue with Ka-band antenna components and SurfBeam 2 modems for installation on the airline’s Embraer E190 and Airbus A320 aircraft types along with two-way transmission bandwidth services using the WildBlue-1 and ViaSat-1 satellites. JetBlue and ViaSat said the agreement will lead to the signing of a definitive agreement before the end of 2010.   ViaSat and LiveTV also announced that they intend to partner to bring Ka-band satellite broadband services to the airline industry, including LiveTV’s existing customer base of airlines. JetBlue and ViaSat expect the first installations to occur by mid-2012.
    Financial details of both the SkyLink acquisition and the JetBlue agreement were not disclosed.

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