Photo: Thales.

Thales, SES and Hughes Network Systems announced a set of strategic agreements to enhance the delivery of FlytLIVE, Thales’ connected in-flight experience solution. Under the agreements, SES contracts capacity on Hughes EchoStar 17 and EchoStar 19 Ka-band High Throughput Satellites (HTS) to complement its AMC 15 and AMC 16 network. SES will also purchase multiple Jupiter System gateways from Hughes to qualify Thales to deploy its FlytLIVE service on Hughes’ Jupiter aeronautical platform. This will allow Thales to initiate its connected in-flight experience offering in North America this year. Furthermore, the system being deployed is forward compatible with SES 17, SES’ Ka-band HTS satellite optimized for aviation connectivity and expected to launch in 2020.

FlytLIVE by Thales provides an in-flight connectivity solution giving passengers full broadband internet connectivity, including the ability to stream internet services for video, games, social media and live television. In addition, this new service enables airlines to upload content, download operational data, and provide live television channels to their entire fleet through managed end-to-end solutions and network services.

In 2016, SES and Thales announced an agreement to procure and commercialize SES 17 and to leverage SES’ existing AMC 15 and AMC 16 satellites for FlytLIVE. This new set of strategic agreements between SES, Thales and Hughes provide Thales with an expanded scope of HTS Ka-band satellite. The combination of Hughes EchoStar 17 and 19 Ka-band satellites with SES’ AMC 15 and AMC 16 network provide for expanded satellite capacity, coverage, and redundancy over North America. With these four satellites and the Hughes Jupiter System aeronautical platform, Thales will be positioned to offer connectivity and content services for the full gamut of North American flight routes, including routes between the North East U.S. and Canada and the Caribbean.

At the center of the new service is Hughes Jupiter system. Features of the network include rapid beam-to-beam and satellite-to-satellite switching and DVB-S2x transmission. Thales has already begun service testing using its new Thales Ka-band aero antenna and the Hughes Jupiter technology. SES will also purchase multiple Hughes Jupiter System gateways to support traffic carried over AMC 15 and AMC 16, as well as SES 17, when it enters service.