Viasat Inc., a global communications company, today announced an expanded relationship with long-time partner Collins Aerospace ARINCDirect (“Collins Aerospace”), a value-added reseller (VAR) of business aviation solutions, to offer Viasat’s Ka-band in-flight connectivity (IFC) system for mid- and large-cabin business aircraft.

Today, Viasat offers three IFC solutions for the business aviation market: Ka-band, Ku Advanced, and Dual Ku-/Ka-band. By adding Viasat Ka-band to its service offering portfolio, Collins Aerospace can now provide all Viasat options to its customers, including Ka-band service for new installs and service upgrades for current Viasat Ku-band customers to either the faster Viasat Ka-band or the global Dual Ku-/Ka-band solution. The Viasat Ka-band and Ku-band systems have the same line-replaceable unit (LRU) footprint and can leverage existing aircraft wiring.

“We are delighted to offer Viasat Ka, Ku and Dual-Band aircraft connectivity services as an integrated ARINCDirect solution,” said Thomas Sterling, director of Business Aviation Digital Solutions at Collins Aerospace. “This milestone will help corporate flight departments modernize their passenger experience, and at the same time, reduce the headache of coordinating across multiple disparate aircraft and operations services.”

Under the new agreement, Viasat’s Ka-band in-flight connectivity system is available as a standalone service or bundled with other ARINCDirect solutions, offering Collins Aerospace customers a connectivity option that will benefit them in a variety of ways, including:

• High speed connectivity. Viasat’s Ka-band IFC solution in ARINCDirect’s offering will provide high-speed connectivity from takeoff to touchdown—at speeds typically greater than 20 Mbps. This level of connectivity enables business jet passengers to do the same connected activities in the air as they do on the ground: streaming video, music and TV, video calls, browsing, email, VPN and more.
• Lightweight hardware and more capacity. Viasat’s “no speed limits” Ka-band solution is made possible by the Company’s high-capacity satellite network combined with Viasat’s compact and lightweight hardware. Together they deliver the global bandwidth required to meet the increasing demand for faster connectivity speeds to use data-rich applications while in-flight.
  Forward-compatibility will allow customers to install the Viasat shipset and subscribe to a Viasat service package today, with the ability to access additional satellite capacity and expanded coverage from Viasat in the future.
• Viasat’s growing satellite network. Today, the Viasat Global Aero Terminal 5510 Ka-band terminal communicates with Viasat’s ViaSat-1, ViaSat-2 and KA-SAT satellite platforms for connectivity across North and Central America, the Caribbean, the North Atlantic, and Europe, and is expected to be forward-compatible with Viasat’s next-generation global satellite system, ViaSat-3.

“We’re pleased to extend our long-standing partnership with Collins Aerospace to now offer Viasat’s proven Ka-band system and services to those customers who are looking for a best-in-class connectivity solution,” said Claudio D’Amico, Viasat’s business area director, Business Aviation. “This agreement opens up new business opportunities for both of our organizations. We have a competitive IFC product and service that we believe can be the go-to choice for any mid-to-large cabin business aircraft.”

The first aircraft with Viasat’s Ka-band IFC system provided by Collins Aerospace entered into service in August 2021.