Wifi sign onboard a commercial aircraft. Photo: Business Wire

Intelsat has joined the Seamless Air Alliance, a U.S.-based consortium dedicated to the development and promotion of standards to facilitate a better, more seamless in-flight connectivity experience for passengers. Airbus, Airtel, Delta, OneWeb, and Sprint founded the consortium.

The standards would eliminate costs and hurdles associated with acquisition, installation, and operation of data access infrastructure by streamlining system integration and certification and providing open specifications for interoperability. The standards could help empower mobile operators to extend services into airline cabin, allowing airline passengers to use their own devices to automatically and easily connect to the internet.

Intelsat will contribute in the integration of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite solutions into the hybrid network, helping to connect aircraft. The company will also help to define standards, test equipment, and develop service packages focused on the aeronautical market.