JetBlue plans to offer ultra-quick broadband links 

Discount airline JetBlue is set to announce a deal with satellite communications firm, ViaSat Inc to put ultra-quick broadband links on its 160 aircraft.

The prospective deal would fit the airline’s Airbus and Embraer planes with Ka-band links which have the ability to transmit high-speed data and handle broadband entertainment, the report said. If established, the installation would be the first of its kind in the fast-growing in-flight entertainment industry.

The deal will be announced late Wednesday. The availability of high-speed links has encouraged a debate in the airline industry over the cost and popularity of offering high-speed internet and mobile phone usage to passengers.

Ka-band allows airlines to go further than simple messaging and email toward the multimedia games and movies available at home. ViaSat also said that it was looking at options for expanding its work for the Pentagon.

Source Reuters