Intelsat S.A. on Wednesday announced a new contract with Panasonic Avionics for up to 1 Gbps of capacity on the recently announced Intelsat EpicNG satellite platform for in-flight consumer broadband and live TV services.
The multi-year agreement will provide up to 80 Mbps per aircraft and 200 Mbps per spot beam for all Panasonic-equipped aircraft in the U.S. and North Atlantic region. Intelsat plans to launch their EpicNG platform in 2015, and Panasonic will be the launch customer for the platform.
Intelsat’s EpicNG is based on an open architecture design and will be fully integrated into their existing global satellite network, with Ku and C-band frequencies, as well as possible Ka-band capacity.
“As we continue to equip more and more aircraft with our broadband services, we are taking proactive steps that ensure the best possible connectivity solution for our customers. With Intelsat EpicNG, Panasonic will use Ku-band technology to deliver to airlines the highest possible throughput capacity on a global, open architecture platform, without any costly changes to antenna equipment or unnecessary aircraft downtime,” said Paul Margis, CEO of Panasonic Avionics Corp.