JetBlue has long been a trendsetter when it comes to inflight Wi-Fi. While free Wi-Fi is just now becoming increasingly common among airlines, JetBlue has been offering it for over a decade, in partnership with Viasat.
Continue reading: JetBlue Will Offer Amazon’s Project Kuiper Wi-Fi, Faster Than Starlink
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I find it interesting that amazon uses spacex to launch their satellites. Seems like spacex doesnt care to protect the value of starlink. Or maybe spacex values the revenue now to invest in decreasing launch costs for future growth.
Are faster speeds than Starlink needed? Starlink has, what, 100 Mbps+ download on a plane? You can easily stream HD video. What exactly would you need a faster service for?
Interestingly Space X is also launching Viasat's new APAC satellite after Arianne backed out due to technical issues.
I think the issue comes to total bandwidth. Each of the satellites have a maximum data throughput that they can handle and I would imagine the worry would be that as more people use Starlink, it may reach a point where speeds degrade.
If the higher speed of this service is driven by higher maximum data throughput, it would "future-proof" the service.
Amazon needs an airline or two to validate its product and B6 is getting some very attractive terms to be the guinea pig in the onslaught of Starlink's growth
Jeff Bezos must be hoping that the revenue generated will be sufficient to pay off his current ‘dead weight’ around his neck and allow him to invest in a younger model …. 🙂
Could this be overly optimistic ? Who's to say beleaguered B6 will still be around when it's time for installation ? Wonder exactly how many aircraft would be involved in the retrofit since it sounds like it wouldn't be fleet wide ? Could Amazon be paying B6 some much needed $$$ just for the exposure/marketing ?
With these a321ceos being at a decade old, could we see a cabin retrofit? It’s amazing how “old” and “antiquated” those IFE devices are or look.