OneWeb, a global communications company with a mission to connect everyone everywhere, will bring high speed, low latency, reliable in-flight connectivity to business aviation users – creating a “fit for business” cabin in the sky for the first time.
With global services beginning in 2021, OneWeb’s inflight service will connect unconnected routes such as the Arctic from the outset, and business jet fliers will be able to access all applications from their office in the air.
Working with key industry partners, OneWeb pledges to deliver an affordable line-fit solution to the lightest of bizjets, through to large cabin VVIP airliners and new supersonic offerings. OneWeb’s service will transform flight connectivity at a time when cabin connectivity is ranked a top priority for commercial operators and private jet buyers.
The business aviation team, led by Dylan Browne, Head of OneWeb’s Business Aviation, Government and Maritime sectors, will be at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, NV. (October 21-24) to explain the benefits of low latency, cloud-friendly services to OEMs and to prospective partners.
“Our vision for business aviation is fully customized, truly global, uninterrupted high-speed connectivity and we are building an eco-system for this sector,” said Dylan Browne.
“Business jet users want to make their time onboard count. They need to be able to access the same tools in the sky as on the ground. OneWeb will make it possible for all the software applications used in an office to be available in the sky. We are duly looking forward to our debut at the world’s biggest business aviation gathering, with a vast range of specialist companies represented under one roof, including resellers and antenna suppliers.”
When OneWeb goes live, passengers will be able to fully participate in necessary business operations such as multiple simultaneous uninterrupted live video conferences, access cloud solutions such as Office365, connect with Live TV, as well as content streaming Apps such as Netflix and Amazon Video, but also keep up to date with the family on FaceTime and WhatsApp.
OneWeb’s solution comes from high performing, low latency, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites situated much closer to Earth – approximately 750 miles.
This means that business jet passengers connecting in-flight won’t have to compete for their coverage in the traditional, larger 35,000 ft GEO (Geostationary) space, where transmission regularly drops out.
A typical GEO satellite signal round-trip of nearly 45,000 miles on average means a network time delay of two seconds. GEOs also cannot serve the polar regions, where OneWeb plans to offer polar track coverage from day one, which is good news for the business jet community, with aircraft flying longer and further than ever before.