ThinKom Solutions is supplying its ThinAir Ka2517 aero satellite antennas to GDC Technics, the company revealed Thursday. The Ka2517 antenna will be used to enable Inmarsat’s GX Aviation broadband satellite In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) solutions, including the new GX+ North American IFC service announced by Inmarsat and Hughes Network Systems earlier this year.

The Ka2517 antenna is based on ThinKom’s Variable iInclination Continuous Transverse Stub (VICTS) technology. VICTS antennas have been used for 18 million operational hours on more than 1,550 commercial aircraft.

GDC’s next-generation IFC terminals with ThinKom’s antennas have received a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) on Boeing B737-700 aircraft. GDC has planned for more STCs in early 2021 for the Airbus A320 family, additional B737 models, and Boeing B787 and B777 aircraft.

“The Ka2517 antenna fully complies with new regulatory requirements, including WRC-19 EISM and ITU Article 22, ensuring non-interference with terrestrial 5G cellular networks or with Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites when being used on Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO networks),” said Bill Milroy, chairman and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of ThinKom Solutions. “It also offers the switching speeds and agility to interoperate seamlessly with new multi-layered GEO, Highly-Elliptical Orbit (HEO) and NGSO satellite networks.”