Tag Archives: ka band
Amazon asks FCC for permission to launch internet satellites
Amazon is moving fairly quickly on its plan to deploy thousands of internet satellites. The company has filed for FCC permission to launch 3,236 satellites as part of Project Kuiper. The spacecraft would be grouped into 98 orbital planes, and fly a...
American Airlines offers satellite WiFi to its entire mainline fleet
If you're relying on American Airlines for a summer trip, there's a good chance you'll have internet access most of the way. The company has finished deploying satellite-based internet access to the fleet of 700-plus narrowbody aircraft that mainly...
Spirit is first budget airline in the US to offer WiFi
As a rule, traveling with a budget airline in the US means foregoing any kind of mid-flight WiFi access. Not so with Spirit, though. The no-frills air carrier is rolling out internet access to its aircraft this fall, with the entire fleet expected...
Quika promises free satellite internet for developing countries
Facebook's plans for free satellite internet access may have run into some... setbacks, but another company is promising to make that ubiquitous data a practical reality. Quika, a company led by the chief of satellite provider Talia, is launching a...
JetBlue will have free satellite WiFi on every flight by fall 2016
JetBlue's plans to outfit its aircraft with fast satellite WiFi are most definitely on track. The airline has announced that it not only has Fly-Fi on all of its Airbus aircraft, but that it expects to have the free internet access aboard all its r...
JetBlue Ka-band high-speed internet now arriving in early 2013, eight times faster than the competition
JetBlue Airways' high-speed wireless initiative is being held in a flight pattern until "early 2013," apparently. The company announced as much in a detailed blog post this afternoon, which also compared speeds of its forthcoming in-plane high-speed internet to the competition -- JetBlue's Ka-band operates roughly eight times faster than the Ku-band competition, and over nine times faster than ATG. Moreover, Ka-band can scale to a full plane of passengers, meaning everyone gets the "at-home experience" they'd like regardless of how many folks are signed on. As previously noted, the "basic Wi-Fi" service with JetBlue will cost nothing -- which sounds to us like there are plans to reveal a more expensive tier (or tiers) in the near future. But then again, we really like free things.
Filed under: Transportation, Wireless, Internet
JetBlue Ka-band high-speed internet now arriving in early 2013, eight times faster than the competition originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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JetBlue Airways | Email this | Comments Intellectual Ventures launches Kymeta spinoff, promises slim satellite broadband hotspots
Intellectual Ventures is best known for its tendency to sue everyone, but it's going some distance to mend that bruised image through a newly spun out company, Kymeta. The startup hopes to improve the quality of satellite broadband through mTenna-branded, Ka-band hotspots made from metamaterials -- substances that can boost and manipulate a satellite signal while occupying virtually no space, leading to self-pointing transceivers that are just a fraction of the size of what we use today. That still amounts to equipment the size of a laptop running at a peak 5Mbps, although it's small enough that Kymeta sees hotspots reaching individual customers who want access from a boat, a car or the field. We'd just advise against tossing out the MiFi too quickly. Kymeta doesn't expect the hotspot to be ready before late 2014 at the earliest, and that leaves many questions about how much of a hit we'll take to the pocketbook.
Filed under: Wireless, Networking
Intellectual Ventures launches Kymeta spinoff, promises slim satellite broadband hotspots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 17:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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GeekWire, Techmeme | Kymeta | Email this | Comments Avanti launches prepaid, Ka-band satellite internet access, wants us Yelping from the Alps
Avanti has been beaming satellite broadband to Europe for awhile, but it's been tied to a subscription through carrier deals. That's a tough sell to customers who, by definition, don't want to be tied to anything -- which is why the company just launched prepaid satellite internet access for the continent. Although the Ka-band service's 4Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream speeds won't have anyone dropping their 330Mbps fiber anytime soon, the pay-as-you-go strategy will let travelers and rural dwellers get broadband in a pinch, no matter how spotty terrestrial access might get. Imagine Skype calls during Swiss ski vacations and you've got the gist of it. Carriers will resell the data in healthy doses of 1GB or larger, and Avanti is adamant that there won't be any nasty throttling surprises waiting in store. While exact prices will depend on partners, the provider isn't waiting for those details before it covers much of the Old World: its upcoming HYLAS 2 satellite (what you see above) will share the speed with Africa, the Caucasus region and the Middle East as of August 2nd, making it almost too easy for us to update Google+ in Georgia.
Filed under: Wireless, Networking
Avanti launches prepaid, Ka-band satellite internet access, wants us Yelping from the Alps originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |TechWeek Europe | Email this | Comments Delta expanding Gogo in-flight WiFi to select international flights beginning in 2013
Delta Airlines isn't a stranger to offering WiFi on many of its domestic US flights, but using Gogo's air-to-ground connection setup has essentially kept it from taking off over the seas. That's all set to change come 2013, however, as 150 of Delta's long-haul aircraft will make use of all those high-bandwidth Ku-band capacity satellites that Gogo has been acquiring over the past few months. The updated setup will ensure that you can update your Facebook status over the likes of the Atlantic, but it won't be fully rolled out until about 2015. By that time, the airline estimates it'll be operating around 1,000 Gogo-equipped aircraft worldwide -- not too shabby. If anything, the wait to hit 10,000 feet is surely going be more interesting for all the international work-a-holics out there. Hit up the press release after the break for more details in the meantime.
Delta expanding Gogo in-flight WiFi to select international flights beginning in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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