Air-to-ground (ATG) in-flight connectivity company SmartSky has achieved multiple key commercial milestones since it announced nationwide coverage at NBAA 2022 last year.
These milestones include SmartSky customers completing more than 1,000 flights on the network, SmartSky adding Volato to its fleet customer ranks and Davinci Jets announcing it will be upgrading the majority of their managed fleet to SmartSky.
Other significant developments include the company adding six sales and installation partners, bringing the total to nearly 25.
In addition, the SmartSky Flagship system is now installed and flying on nine different aircraft types and SmartSky LITE system is installed and flying on five different aircraft models which brings no-device limit, streaming capabilities to the underserved light jet and turboprop markets for the first time.
SmartSky says 17 additional STCs are either completed or in progress, bringing the total to 28.
SmartSky’s next-generation network of 319 towers delivers continuous connection for high-bandwidth applications in the cloud, video calls, livestreaming news and entertainment and even online gaming.
Each aircraft is assigned a separate connection which is not shared with other aircraft. This results in information privacy and ensuring a consistent experience across the network.
Dave Helfgott, CEO of SmartSky commented: “Our network utilises a patented and optimised combination of 5G and LTE technologies designed for the unique demands of aviation communications, such as beamforming, to deliver a consistent high-speed experience nationwide. Our most active customer flights have consistently used almost 4GB per hour on the Flagship system and almost 3GB per hour on the LITE system.
“We define quality of service in two principal dimensions – ubiquitous, consistent connection and user experience – which combine forward-link speed, ultra-low latency, and return-link speed. We see Flagship customers achieving peak speeds of over 25 Mbps, and LITE customers with peaks over 20 Mbps. These are actual results, not theoretical. While these statistics are helpful metrics, the most important one is the inflight experience.
“Feedback from pilots, passengers and support on the ground includes statements like, ‘game changing,’ ‘connected for the entire flight,’ ‘lifesaver,’ and ‘real-time, no delay.”
