OneWeb and Panasonic to Deliver LEO Broadband to Airlines

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Satellite-delivered broadband company OneWeb and Panasonic Avionics Corporation, a global supplier of in-flight entertainment and connectivity, agreed to terms that enable Panasonic Avionics to support, market, and sell OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency in-flight broadband services to commercial airlines worldwide.

Panasonic Avionics will offer OneWeb’s global service standalone or paired with Panasonic’s GEO service. It says those services cover 99.6   percent of the world’s flight routes. Adding support for OneWeb will offer airlines more choices, with top-tier products supporting uplink speeds approaching 200 Mbps and return link speeds up to 32 Mbps everywhere, including polar routes, according to Panasonic.  

This coverage and performance will improve in-flight surfing and streaming, opening the door to new airline passenger experiences, according to Panasonic. Examples include video conferencing, VoIP communication and live gameplay.

Panasonic expects to support OneWeb-equipped aircraft in the second half of 2023. Panasonic will make its catalog of cloud-enabled, broadband-connected applications available over the OneWeb network, including mobile phone connectivity, a moving map, ZeroTouchTM content management, and related services. 

John Wade, Vice President of Panasonic Avionics’ In-flight Connectivity Business Unit, said, “Airline passenger expectations continue to change. Passengers are accustomed to high-speed, low-latency connections supporting remote collaborative working environments, high-quality video streaming, and real-time gameplay. With OneWeb, we can now offer that experience everywhere our customers fly.”

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