Satellite Operators Try to Meet Escalating Bandwidth Demands

Welcome to the second edition of GCA Link, our brand new publication that goes alongside our critically acclaimed Global Connected Aircraft Summit. I have just come back from the SATELLITE show in Washington D.C., where once again the industry was optimistic about connected transportation markets such as maritime, aero and the connected car.

In this edition of GCA Link, we talk with a number of the key satellite operators about their new capacity and how they believe they can serve this market better going forward. One of the interesting dynamics at the SATELLITE show was the talk about low Earth orbit satellites. These satellite constellations have yet to be launched, and it will be interesting to see what impact, if any, they would have on the in-flight connectivity market, given that most the satellite capacity used here is in geostationary Earth orbit.

Also in this edition of GCA Link, we have a case study involving Finnair, one of the most progressive airlines in Europe when it comes to in-flight connectivity. We talk with one of its key executives, Harri Valkama, about where the airline goes next with its strategy.

Woodrow Bellamy III, editor of Avionics, takes a look at the highly dynamic weather applications market and the latest wave of applications hitting this market. With more and more aircraft becoming connected, it will be intriguing to see how these applications develop.

Finally, we look forward to seeing you at Aircraft Interiors, always one of the conference highlights of the year as we see the next stages of this continually fascinating market. GCA