In order to provide the in-flight wireless internet using the Starlink satellite network, SpaceX signed its first deal with an air carrier. The space company said on Thursday as it jockeys with other burgeoning satellite firms to put high-speed internet on commercial airlines.
Boon For Rural Areas
The company, owned by Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk, has been in talks for months with airlines to provide Starlink internet in-flight, a key prong in SpaceX’s strategy to scoop up enterprise customers beyond consumers and households in rural areas of the globe with little to no internet access.
The charter company said in a statement that the deal is with semi-private jet service JSX and involves equipping 100 airplanes with Starlink terminals, with the first Starlink-connected plane taking flight by year’s end. The spokersperson of JSX was reached out to comment, however he did not want to comment anything
Starlink Satellites
Since 2019, as many as 2,000 Starlink satellites have been launched by SpaceX. Notably, the network is not yet fully deployed. SpaceX has offered broadband internet service to thousands of customers in a handful of countries for $110 a month using a $599 terminal dish roughly the size of a pizza box.
In order to operate Starlink on airplanes and shipping vessels, the SpaceX has sought regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
SpaceX has sought regulatory approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to operate Starlink on airplanes and shipping vessels and had previously tested the internet network on a handful of Gulfstream jets, as well as military aircraft.
The Starlink service on JSX planes will come at no charge to JSX customers, the jet service said in its statement, adding it will “not require logging in or other complexities associated with legacy systems.”
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