Bombardier will be the first manufacturer to offer high-speed Ka-band in-flight Internet conductivity in a business aircraft, with Honeywell’s new JetWave satcom system to be available for delivery aboard the Canadian aircraft manufacturer’s Global series starting in 2016, the companies announced this morning. In 2012, Honeywell signed an exclusive agreement with satellite operator Inmarsat for its Global Xpress (GX) Aviation communication network and developed hardware, now known as JetWave, to support it. For business aviation applications, Global Xpress is now known as Jet ConneX (JX).

In addition to providing the hardware, Honeywell will also serve as the master distributor of airtime for the business aviation market, working with channel partners Satcom1, Aircell, Arinc Direct, Satcom Direct and OnAir. The system will offer virtual global coverage with a range of service packages, each covered by an industry-first minimum service guarantee.

“It’s not surprising how important it would be to our customer base to have a home-like experience as it relates to connectivity on the aircraft,” Bombardier Business Aircraft director of product planning Brad Nolen told AIN. “The least expensive package will offer connectivity speeds faster than any satellite-based communication system today.” The data speeds of JetWave running Jet ConneX were not specified in today’s announcement, but Inmarsat advertises its Global Xpress Ka-band satcom as delivering speeds of up to 50 Mbps for downloads and 5 Mbps for uploads. JetWave will also be available for retrofit installation on existing Globals, Bombardier said.