Airbus announces MoU with Telesat for LEO network integration at APEX
Tim Sommer, Vice President Connected Aircraft Program, Airbus, gives a press briefing at APEX Global EXPO 2024
Airbus has announced that it signed an MoU with Telesat as a Ka-band provider. The announcement was made by Tim Sommer, Vice President Connected Aircraft Program, at a press briefing at APEX Global EXPO in Long Beach, California, USA. Airbus and Telesat will collaborate on the integration of the Telesat Lightspeed low earth orbit (LEO) network within the Airbus HBCplus Ka-band solution portfolio.
“The MoU with Telesat offers an additional level of service and flexibility that a LEO provider can deliver,” said Sommer.
Airbus launched its HBCplus satellite connectivity solution as a supplier-furnished line-fit catalog option and also for retrofit on all Airbus programs. Airbus and Telesat will work together to address user terminal integration for HBCplus installations that are capable of providing Telesat Lightspeed services.
Airbus announces MoU with Telesat at APEX
“Our advanced, enterprise-class LEO network was designed from inception to meet the demanding requirements of inflight connectivity service providers with guaranteed committed information rates and SLAs,” said Philippe Schleret, Vice President of Aviation for Telesat. “We’re excited to begin this important collaboration with Airbus to ensure our channel partners can seamlessly integrate Telesat Lightspeed services into their portfolios to deliver exceptional connectivity experiences to their customers as HBCplus Managed Service Providers.”
“We are very happy to partner with Telesat,” said Sommer, in an October 28 press release. “The integration of the Telesat Lightspeed LEO network within the Airbus HBCplus solution will perfectly complement our current MEO & GEO offer. This partnership is a great opportunity to answer to the emerging demand for low latency connectivity, but also to contribute towards our multi-orbit strategy for global coverage.”
Airbus also announced today that Thai Airways International will be the first airline customer for the A320 family in the APAC region and part of the HBCplus program. Thai Airways will be taking delivery of the first A321 with the HBCplus solution within the next year.
