Amazon announced that JetBlue, based in the US, will be the inaugural airline to implement its Project Kuiper low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network for Wi-Fi services.
Starting in 2027, Amazon’s Project Kuiper will improve JetBlue’s complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi service on certain aircraft.
The partnership seeks to enhance travelers’ capacity to stream and utilize bandwidth-heavy applications while in flight.
Project Kuiper will utilize its aviation-focused customer terminal featuring a full-duplex, Ka-band phased array antenna to enable download speeds of as much as 1 Gb/s on one device.
Since 2013, JetBlue has provided complimentary access to in-flight Wi-Fi through a partnership with Viasat that utilizes its geostationary satellites.
Along with JetBlue, Amazon made a deal with Airbus earlier this year to incorporate Kuiper connectivity into its aircraft.
Over the last four months, Amazon has deployed 102 Kuiper satellites for its broadband constellation. It manages a $140 million facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to assist with satellite launches.
It intends to start providing services later this year. Project Kuiper originally aimed to begin commercial services by the close of 2024.
Project Kuiper must comply with a Federal Communications Commission deadline to launch 1,618 of its intended 3,236 satellites by July 2026.
T-Mobile US revealed yesterday (4 September) that it will offer complimentary Wi-Fi to Southwest Airline passengers beginning 24 October, following a similar announcement made with Alaska Airlines last month utilizing Starlink’s satellites.
Project Kuiper is rivaling Elon Musk’s Starlink in offering satellite-based Wi-Fi services to airlines.
Along with Starlink, competitors consist of EchoStar, Eutelsat, and direct-to-device experts AST SpaceMobile and Lynk Global
