Intelsat Commercial Aviation Goes Into Agreement With Nelco To Offer Inflight Connectivity in India’s Airspace

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Intelsat, operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial network and leading provider of inflight connectivity (IFC), announced the beginning of Intelsat’s inflight connectivity services in Indian skies through an agreement with Nelco, India’s leading satellite communication service provider.

This agreement is welcome news for Intelsat’s airline partners and flyers as they will enjoy end-to-end broadband coverage on domestic and international aircraft flying to or from an Indian airport, as well as 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.”

Intelsat’s IFC service enables airline passengers a seamless at-home and in-office connectivity experience. Further, it allows an airline to differentiate itself, enhancing the passenger experience while driving passenger loyalty and optimizing 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 has been offering the Aero IFC services for more than two years with plans to introduce these services to more airlines in collaboration with its global partners.

Nelco will provide these services using Intelsat’s IS-33e high throughput satellite. IS-33e was launched in 2016 which provides C and Ku-band connectivity to parts of Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Intelsat’s IS-33e satellite is approved by Indian government regulators, paving the way for coverage with no interruptions or blackout zones. 

The service is available on Intelsat partner airlines and their passengers on aircraft now.