For the past five months Satcom Direct has been testing Intelsat’s new FlexExec airborne connectivity service on its Gulfstream GIV. FlexExec runs on Intelsat’s Ku-band satcom network and it offers aircraft owners and operators a new way to pay for satellite communications hardware and services via a power-by-the-hour program. Unlimited and pay-as-you-go plans will also be available.

Satcom Direct (Booth 250) is the master distributor for FlexExec, which means that it can sign up service providers to deliver satcom services to their own customers. But Satcom Direct is also a service provider offering the FlexExec service to its customers.

“There is a lot of room for improvement [in business aviation satcom],” said Mark Rasmussen, Intelsat vice president and general manager, mobility. “This is a perfect time to make a move with a partner like Satcom Direct.”

The FlexExec satellite network is dedicated to business aviation and it doesn’t serve other bandwidth-using markets such as commercial aviation, terrestrial, and maritime customers. “This is the first business aviation network that does that,” he said.

The Intelsat constellation includes six high-throughput satellites launched during the past three years. These are bolstered by another 45 satellites and the combined network provides high throughput where 99 percent of customers operate around the world. The network delivers “enormous amounts of throughput,” he said. “It’s focused not just on speed to the airplane but consistency of service.”

The multiple satellites allow for layering of spot beams in high-traffic regions to ensure consistent service when multiple users occupy the same area. Coverage is global and network speed is up to 10 Mbps. In about one and a half years, that is expected to grow to 25 Mbps. The Intelsat network is also the only SOC-3 (service organization control)-compliant business aviation satcom network, according to Rasmussen. SOC-3 is an auditing system for security and privacy standards.

The airborne hardware for FlexExec is the Astronics (Booth 214) AeroSat FliteStream T-310 system, which weighs 59 pounds and includes a lightweight steered 12-inch dish antenna that mounts in an empennage radome. The smallest business airplane that can accommodate the T-310 satcom is a super-midsize Bombardier Challenger 300, according to Astronics.