March 9, 2017 – Thales, SES, and Hughes Network Systems have announced a set of strategic agreements to enhance the delivery of FlytLIVE – Thales’ inflight experience and connectivity solution for the Americas.
The FlytLIVE inflight connectivity solution is intended to give passengers full broadband Internet connectivity, including the ability to stream Internet services for video, games, social media and live television. In addition, this service enables airlines to upload content, download operational data, and provide live television channels to their entire fleet through managed end-to-end solutions and network services.
Under the agreements, SES will contract capacity on Hughes EchoStar XVII and EchoStar XIX high-throughput (HTS) Ka-band satellites to complement its AMC-15 and AMC-16 network, giving FlytLIVE what Thales claims is the only redundant network in North America, covering the full gamut of North American flight routes, including routes between the North East US and Canada and the Caribbean, which to-date have been underserved as these flight routes are predominantly over open ocean.
SES will also purchase multiple Jupiter System gateways from Hughes to qualify Thales to deploy its FlytLIVE service on Hughes’ Jupiter aeronautical platform. This will allow Thales to initiate its next- generation connected inflight experience offering in North America this year. The system being deployed is forward compatible with SES-17, SES’ Ka- band HTS satellite optimized for aviation connectivity, which is expected to launch in 2020.
“With these strategic agreements with SES and Hughes, Thales FlytLIVE service will be uniquely able to deliver airlines and their passengers with an unsurpassed, connected inflight entertainment experience,” stated Dominique Giannoni, CEO of Thales InFlyt Experience.
