In Conversation: EBACE with ViaSat’s James Person
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APEX caught up with James Person, director, General Aviation/VVIP Business Sector, ViaSat, during his time at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) to talk about ViaSat’s experience at this year’s show, what’s happening at their booth and their expanded partnership with Gulfstream.
How’s the show going for ViaSat?
We’re really excited this year because it’s the first time we’re able to have a live demo of our new system for business aviation. There’s a lot of interest in what we’re doing there and there’s a lot of interest in our Gulfstream announcement as well. It’s been a great EBACE for us.
Are there any highlights that stand out for ViaSat?
The Gulfstream announcement certainly is important for us. We’re pleased to be able to have a direct relationship with them and build on the 10-year experience that we have. We’re glad to build on that relationship and continue to expand the market for high speed in-flight connectivity.
We’re equally excited about being able to showcase live what we’re already doing on commercial airlines with our Exede® In The Air offering and that’s what we’re bringing to business aviation. We’re able to showcase that in our booth and show that to our partners.
“We’re showcasing in our booth the kind of experience that someone who’s riding the back of a large cabin business jet would have.”
How is ViaSat showcasing its services live at the EBACE booth?
We put one of our antennas on the roof of the convention center and so all of the capacity available there is beamed down into the booth. We’re showcasing the kind of experience that someone who’s riding the back of a large-cabin business jet would have. We have a big-screen TV, we’re showcasing HD live TV, we have a video conference capability and we’re showing the high-definition quality of that as well. And all the people who are in our booth are using the Internet over our satellite.
Do ViaSat’s ventures in ground connectivity give the company an edge going into a show like EBACE?
Because we have hundreds of thousands of subscribers already in our Ka network, we’re gathering tons of usage data. The way people use the Internet on the ground is exactly how they want to use it in the air and we’re able to take that data of ground usage and apply it in the air.
For more news out for EBACE 2015 click here.