Viasat Inc. gets contract to provide high-speed satellite internet for 7 SriLankan Airlines aircraft

The Cabinet of Ministers at their meeting on Monday approved awarding the contract to Viasat Inc. to obtain Ka-band high-speed satellite technical internet connectivity for seven A330-300 model aircraft of Sri Lankan Airlines for a period of seven years.

The national carrier at present operates a fleet of 13 aircraft with internet facilities enabling passengers to use Wi-Fi facilities and GSM services on their mobile phones in-flight. As passengers have to use low internet speed with the outdated internet facilities existing at present, the need to provide fast internet application facilities has been identified. 

Ka and Ku bands are used for high-end connections, and due to the availability of a high-frequency range, the Ka-band provides high-speed data transfer. Therefore, it has been identified that Ka-band connections are more suitable for internet access, other structured services and other activities that require huge amounts of data. 

Accordingly, the proposal presented by the Viasat Institute, the only supplier to give Ka-band connectivity providing hardware, software and internet facilities with global coverage for commercial aircraft, was appraised by the Technical Evaluation Committee and the Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers and the recommendations have been forwarded. 

The proposal to this effect tabled by Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.