The Airbus HBCplus program now has Ku-band service providers confirmed. Intelsat and Panasonic Avionics will participate in the program, offering connectivity services for aircraft fitted with the Airbus’ Ku-band ESA terminal. The hardware will be provided by GetSat, with integration from Safran Passenger Innovations.
Starting with aircraft deliveries from the first half of 2026, airlines may select Airbus’ Ku-band ESA terminal as a line-fit solution. The antenna promises support for full-duplex connections to satellites in GEO as well as NGSO orbits (i.e. LEO constellations). Both Intelsat and Panasonic Avionics are partners with OneWeb for LEO capacity, while each also manages a GEO constellation of Ku-band capacity.
Airbus’s Tim Sommer is confident the GetSat/Safran terminal will be ready for service, while noting it is not yet flying today, “I believe with our current Ka and now Ku solution we have something which is not just state of the art but really taking it to the next level. So our notion is also about openness and flexibility more on the service provider side.”
Intelsat’s Dave Bijur highlighted the value of HBCplus being not just a line-fit solution, but a system validated and managed by Airbus. “It gives airlines a lot of optionality and choices,” he noted during the product announcement at APEX EXPO 2023 in Long Beach, CA.
Similarly, PAC’s John Wade called attention to the multi-orbit opportunity presented with the ESA hardware, “LEO is game changing. One of the things we’re really excited about is bringing all that capability to these brand new aircraft.”
The program will also extend to retrofit options from Airbus, though timing on that is less clear.
More news from APEX EXPO/FTE Global 2023
- Immfly, Gategroup team for inflight retail technology
- NetForecast launches QMap network monitoring for ground ops
- Airbus taps Intelsat, Panasonic Avionics for HBCplus Ku-band services
- Spafax launches AdConnect targeted advertising marketplace
- Apps to boost US border crossing experience
- DirecTV plans a global push for its live television services
- AI Flight Feed boosts context, revenue potential of FlightPath3D moving map
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CR says
SES and Intelsat will all be one happy family eventually anyway.