SmartSky announced today the completion of all technical milestones and the opening of the first fully operational coverage zone of its next-generation inflight communications network, enabling route-based flight demonstrations and marking an inflection point on its path to certification and commercial launch later this year.
SmartSky has now proven it can provide office-grade, bi-directional, multi-Mbps inflight connectivity with very low latency for business jet and turboprop flights transiting the network’s Southeastern corridor that covers a large contiguous portion of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
SmartSky CEO, David Helfgott, remarked: “While our primary goal remains lighting up the remainder of the nationwide network in the coming months, today we are showcasing the unparalleled inflight networking capabilities and advanced services that SmartSky is bringing to market for the connected aircraft ecosystem of operators, manufacturers, service providers and passengers.”
Months of successful field testing have ensured that the entire system performs to specification.
“It’s a testament to the strength of our technical team and supplier-partners, as together we’ve successfully developed and fielded a feature-complete, game-changing service based on an optimal mix of proven 4G LTE and emerging 5G technologies that have been adapted to and optimized for the aviation use-case,” said Dave Claassen, SmartSky’s chief technology officer.