Ku3030 phased-array antennas pass 30 million hour milestone

ThinKom Solutions reports that its ThinAir Ku3030 antenna – branded as 2Ku by Intelsat – has now logged more than 30 million hours of operational time on more than 1,300 commercial aircraft with 19 major airlines, carrying passenger internet traffic, business communications, and aircraft maintenance data across the globe. ThinKom’s phased arrays, as part of Intelsat’s 2Ku satellite connectivity system, have delivered connectivity to more than 100 million passengers on more than six million flights since inception, and ThinKom says the system has delivered more than 98% total end-to-end system availability.

“The 2Ku programme really changed what was possible to deliver to an aircraft,” said Bill Milroy, ThinKom’s chief technology officer. “We were really the first team to enable a streaming experience via a high-efficiency phased-array antenna system. That was a game changer. And now, operating the third generation of the system, 2Ku is still acknowledged as being the most efficient, most reliable, and most capable system available.”

Recent commitments for Intelsat’s 2Ku system include Air Canada, which plans to convert its A321 fleet to this high-speed system.