PAX presents PAX Panel: Next-gen networks with Panasonic Avionics
This is a special feature from the November 2025 APEX FTE Asia Expo issue of PAX Tech, on page 12.
PAX Panel: Next-gen networks is available on YouTube now
The latest episode of PAX Panel looks at next-gen networks, sponsored by Panasonic Avionics Corporation. The panel of industry experts discuss advantages of LEO satellite connectivity and its impacts on the inflight connectivity landscape. Panelists include John Wade, Vice President of Connectivity, Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Jeff Sare, Chief Commercial Officer – IFC, ThinKom Solutions; Ken McQuillan, IFE&C Operations & Implementation, JetBlue Airways; and Alexander Polito, Business Development Director Aviation, Eutelsat OneWeb.
Panelists (from Left to Right): John Wade, Vice President of Connectivity, Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Ken McQuillan, IFE&C Operations & Implementation, JetBlue; Alexander Polito, Business Development Director Aviation, Eutelsat OneWeb; Jeff Sare, Chief Commercial Officer – IFC, ThinKom Solutions
Launching into the discussion, Panasonic’s Wade says latency is the main difference passengers will notice with LEO.
“You are no longer waiting for the signal to travel to GEO satellites. Latency is now less than 100 milliseconds instead of 700, delivering a faster, more responsive user experience,” he says.
Eutelsat OneWeb’s Polito agrees, highlighting gaming as an ideal use-case example. “People who wish to engage in e-sports, or any sort of multiplayer experience online, have got to have low latency and low packet loss. That is exactly what a LEO experience delivers.”
McQuillan at JetBlue Airways says latency is the “game changer” in delivering a consistent passenger experience. “It is going to change the entire game in connectivity, especially for airlines because what used to be a luxury is now a demand. You really cannot fly anymore without having connectivity,” he says, adding, “I do not think there has been a revolution quite like this.”
Cost, capacity, coverage, consistency
PAX Panel: Next-gen networks is sponsored by Panasonic Avionics Corporation
The panelists say there are four major considerations that factor into an airlines decision to deliver LEO IFC: cost, capacity, coverage and consistency.
Wade says that because satellites are travelling over the Earth, there is a completely continuous fabric of coverage from pole to pole. “It gives us the ability to have coverage which has not been viable before,” he explains. “You start getting a very consistent service as opposed to a variable one.”
He points out that while physically much smaller, LEO satellites offer radically throughput than anything seen before.
And of course, cost is a major driver. But with more capacity, cost comes down.
“Satellite communications used to be the system of last resort. Now with these modern constellations, they are very comparable–in terms of coverage, cost, capacity and consistency–to what we now experience terrestrially,” Wade explains.
Nodding in agreement, Polito says, “We do what we can to enable flexible commercial models.”
On the supply side, he explains that the options are increasing scale or efficiency.
“That is where we are really focusing here, near term,” Polito says. “Although there is obviously a long-term scale plan, how do we make the network as efficient as possible to ship that supply to allow for more competitive pricing?”
ThinKom’s Sare says industry collaboration is absolutely critical in order to deliver widespread coverage without compromising on cost or capacity.
“Like everything in aviation, it really takes all of us to get the job done. And the more collaboration we have, the better off the airlines are, and therefore the passengers,” Sare says.
McQuillan notes putting aircraft out of service to change equipment is not cost effective, but he says many of those costs can be mitigated based on the savings for an airline when switching to LEO.
“More airlines will be willing to replace their existing equipment, even mid-contract, because installing the new system is easier and ultimately saves money while delivering a better passenger experience,” he explains.
Looking ahead, Wade predicts the uptake of LEO satellite connectivity on low cost- and ultra-low-cost-carriers will put pressure on airlines already delivering IFC via GEO to update offerings to LEO or MEO constellations.
“We are going to see this huge refresh cycle in the industry in terms of making an upgrade from legacy GEO to something different,” Wade speculates, predicting that within the next decade, more than 95 percent of systems will be LEO.
The path forward
But Sare says he does not believe an ideal IFC architecture exists. He predicts that technology and business models will change with the integration of Wi-Fi roaming and how airlines measure ROI.
“There is going to be a future where there is a more consistent and global infrastructure in place that provides that consistency,” Sare concludes.
“Our perspective is LEO first,” Polito reveals. “It is very airline dependent—it depends on what the airline is looking to do, how they want to monetize, what kind of service they want to offer.”
While he says multi-orbit has a place, he feels confident that LEO is going to be the backbone of how OneWeb provides service in the future.
“There is just so much emphasis and investment going into the development of ESAs and LEO satellites. This is really where we are going to see the future,” Wade affirms.
