- Provides high speed in-flight broadband connectivity to airlines worldwide
- Operable at all latitudes, including equatorial, based on breakthrough steerable pointing system
- Optimized for use with upcoming Ku-band HTS satellites and fully compatible with current Ku satellite systems
- Compatible with Global Eagle's current certifications and future line fit installations
- First installation of the new global antenna expected in mid-2016
LOS ANGELES and HOLZGERLINGEN, Germany, Feb. 5, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 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 inflight connectivity market's most popular system today. It incorporates key radio frequency components from QEST and will continue to be marketed and 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. Jörg Oppenländer, 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.
About Global Eagle Entertainment
Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq:ENT) is a worldwide provider of media content, technology, and connectivity solutions to the travel industry. Through the industry's most comprehensive product and services platform, Global Eagle Entertainment provides airlines with a wide range of inflight solutions. These include Wi-Fi, movies, television, music, interactive software, as well as portable IFE solutions, content management services, e-commerce solutions and original content development. Serving over 150 airlines worldwide, Global Eagle Entertainment delivers exceptional quality and value to its customers to help them achieve their passenger experience objectives. The company's headquarters are located in Los Angeles, California, with offices and teams located in North America, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Oceania and South America. Find out more at www.geemedia.com.
About QEST
QEST Quantenelektronische Systeme GmbH is a leading provider of high-performance broadband satellite antenna technology for aeronautical applications. Driving airborne connectivity, QEST antennas enable applications with demanding bandwidth requirements while being fully compliant with regulatory frameworks. QEST antenna designs are optimized for each individual application, ensuring that the needs of satellite operators, service providers and airlines are ideally met. With exceptional track records in large commercial antenna programs, QEST is a reliable partner to the connectivity industry. The German company is located in Holzgerlingen close to Stuttgart. It is a subsidiary of the DRÄXLMAIER Group, an automotive supplier operating in more than 20 countries with an annual turnover of 3.4 billion euro (2014). http://www.qest.de/
