[SatNews] Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (GEE), (Nasdaq:ENT), a worldwide leading provider of content, connectivity and digital media solutions to airlines, today announced that it is jointly designing a new inflight connectivity antenna with QEST Quantenelektronische Systeme
GmbH, a leading developer of high performance antenna systems. The new global antenna will provide airlines with a high speed inflight
connectivity solution that operates reliably at all latitudes, including equatorial regions, where Ku- and/or Ku- High Throughput Satellite (Ku- HTS) coverage is available.
The global GEE-QEST antenna, with availability scheduled for mid-2016, will be optimized for use with upcoming Ku-band HTS systems, offering airlines a breakthrough mix of reliability, high connection speeds and global coverage. The antenna will also be fully compatible with
existing Ku-band satellite systems. The global Ku-band antenna will utilize a revolutionary steerable pointing system to optimize coverage
anywhere a commercial aircraft flies. The antenna will be compatible with GEE's current installation architecture and Supplemental Type
Certificates (STC), and is also intended to meet the requirements for future line fit installations.
The new antenna represents an expansion of GEE's antenna portfolio. The current commercially available Ku-band antenna from GEE is the inflightconnectivity market's most popular system today. It incorporates key radio frequency components from QEST and will continue to be supported in the future.
"We're excited to announce this development program with QEST for our next generation global Ku- antenna," explained Aditya Chatterjee, Senior Vice President of Connectivity Systems and Chief Technology Officer at GEE. "The new antenna extends our technology leadership in inflight connectivity to meet and exceed the growing demands of our worldwide airline customers. Through our joint development with QEST, we will provide airlines with the most advanced, high-speed connectivity technology and service in all latitudes where Ku and Ku HTS are
available."
"We're delighted to work closely with GEE to develop and deploy their new global inflight connectivity antenna," added Dr. Jorg Oppenlander,
CTO at QEST. "With our design expertise in high performance antenna systems, we will provide GEE and its customers with a technology
solution that provides global coverage, takes full advantage of the high speed performance capabilities of upcoming Ku HTS satellite systems and is fully compatible with the current generation of satellites."
More details on the new Global Ku- Antenna system will be provided at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany on April 14 - 16th,
2015.
