The company secured its first deal to provide inflight internet service on airplanes using its Starlink constellation of broadband satellites.
The service will be available later this year to customers of the company that plans to equip 100 planes with Starlink.
The service will be offered to all customers at no charge, and will not require logging in or other complexity associated with legacy systems, according to the statement.
The value of the contract was not disclosed by the spokesman. It is unclear who else might be willing to take the service in-air, according to the report.
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Delta Airlines told the Wall Street Journal that it recently conducted exploratory tests of Starlink's internet technology in a bid to potentially reach business users.
The Starlink satellite megaconstellation was launched in photos.
JSX is proud to be the first air carrier to adopt @SpaceX Starlink internet inflight, free for every Customer onboard. We’d call it the best Wi-Fi in the sky, but it’s actually the greatest Wi-Fi in the galaxy - coming later this year. #Starlink #SpaceX #FlyJSX @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/u3ZrkF3Xs7April 21, 2022
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Neither Musk nor his company has commented on the deal on social media, although Musk said in 2021 that he was targeting different airplane types for Starlink.
The Federal Aviation Administration oversees the airline industry, and Musk referred to it as the schedule driver. The focus should be on the A320, as they serve the most number of people.
From that time, the Embraer ERJ was not on Musk's list. The regional jets cater to business users as they are low-volume (30 seats each) and fly point-to-point between several high-population cities in the western U.S. and Texas. The check-in process at the airport is 20 minutes shorter than the typical 90 minutes for domestic journeys.
Starlink is a great option for rural or remote customers who don't like their current internet options. Business customers of airlines looking for better internet in-air could be part of this client group.
The Starlink home page states that users can expect to see download speeds between 100 MB/s and 200 MB/s, and low latency in most locations. The page doesn't say what those speeds are.
Starlink relies on a steady supply of satellites that areferried to space on the Falcon 9 rocket. More than 2,300 Starlink satellites have been launched by the company. The potential impact on astronomy, launch services and the space debris environment has drawn criticism from some scientists and other stakeholders.
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