Intelsat and Nelco deal offers in-flight connectivity in India

Integrated satellite and terrestrial network operator and IFC provider Intelsat is now offering in-flight connectivity services in Indian skies through its agreement with Nelco, India’s leading satellite communication service provider.

This agreement results in Intelsat’s airline partners and their passengers being able to enjoy end-to-end broadband coverage on domestic and international aircraft flying to or from Indian airports as well as on board aircraft flying over the country.

“In addition to expanding our service coverage area for current customer airlines, our agreement with Nelco opens the possibility for Intelsat to serve India’s domestic airlines,” said Jeff Sare, President of Commercial Aviation at Intelsat. “This is a fast-growing airline market, and there is considerable untapped potential for IFC growth.”

According to Intelsat, its IFC service enables airline passengers a seamless at-home and in-office connectivity experience and allows carriers to differentiate, enhancing the passenger experience while driving passenger loyalty and optimising flight operations.

“We are proud that Nelco has forged this relationship with in-flight connectivity pioneer Intelsat to offer Aero IFC services on their customer aircraft,” said PJ Nath, Managing Director & CEO of NELCO. “As India’s leading SatCom service provider offering best-in-class services, we are now creating a great opportunity through this relationship with Intelsat for further growth of our Aero IFC services in the country in the coming years – and we intend to be a leader in this market in India.

Nelco, which has offered the Aero IFC services for more than two years with plans to introduce these services to more airlines in collaboration with its global partners, will provide these services using Intelsat’s IS-33e high-throughput satellite. IS-33e, which was launched in 2016, provides C and Ku-band connectivity to parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and is approved by Indian government regulators.