
Elon Musk's SpaceX is racing to make wi-fi available in airplanes with a rollout of Starlink Aviation. The constellation of thousands of Starlink satellites already in orbit around the Earth will be used to make internet available, for now, in private jets. To facilitate this, Starlink Aviation is offering customers a USD 150,000 airplane antenna. Charges for the antenna would be one-time. On top of that the customers will have to shell out USD 12,500 to 25,000 per month for the internet service in their private jet.
These customers, likely millionaires and billionaires, would be able to use internet with speeds of up to 350 Mbps. This is enough for video conferences and even gaming.
Booking for such a connection can be made now by paying USD 5000. Starlink Aviation will begin delivering terminals in mid-2023.
The competition for airborne connectivity is heating up.
In addition to Starlink, Britain-backed satellite operator OneWeb is courting airlines and private jets. The market is currently dominated by companies such as Inmarsat and its rival ViaSat.
OneWeb on Tuesday announced an agreement with in-flight broadband giant Panasonic Avionics, which offers service to some 70 airlines, to market and sell OneWeb's broadband service to airlines by mid-2023.
Britain's competition regulator last week referred Viasat's planned takeover of rival Inmarsat for an in-depth investigation over concerns the tie-up could hamper new competition in the aviation connectivity market and increase prices for airlines' on-board Wi-Fi.
SpaceX plans to offer Starlink internet connectivity to Hawaiian Airlines planes next year. The company offers the service for maritime customers and RVs, and already has tens of thousands of individual consumers paying $110 a month with a $599 terminal.
(With inputs from agencies)
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