Jetblue Will Use Amazon’s Project Kuiper Satellites For Free In-flight Internet

In Brief

Many major airlines are beefing up their in-flight net offerings by tapping SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, but JetBlue is going successful a different direction. Amazon and JetBlue announced Thursday a business nether which nan hose will alternatively usage Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites to supply free in-flight connectivity starting successful 2027.

The Kuiper terminals connected JetBlue’s planes will beryllium tin of download speeds of up to 1Gbps from Amazon’s low-Earth orbit satellites. That’s much bandwidth than Starlink’s existent max of 250 Mbps, though Amazon is only readying to build a web of 3,226 satellites, while SpaceX has launched much than 8,000. While Amazon has antecedently claimed it is much focused connected “unserved and underserved communities astir nan world,” that connection has been removed from its website.

When nan work goes live, JetBlue will beryllium nan first hose to usage Kuiper satellites, which Amazon started launching to abstraction successful April. Amazon besides announced earlier this year that it was integrating its outer net tech pinch Airbus planes.

Those contracts are large steps for Kuiper, which has been successful nan useful for years. The task has been bogged down by accumulation problems, though Amazon has said it will beryllium capable to deed nan mid-2026 deadline imposed by nan Federal Communications Commission to motorboat nan first half of its web into orbit.

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