Business & GA

Arinc in the fourth quarter will broaden its SkyLink in-flight service to include the entire Caribbean flight region, "substantial" coverage in Central and South America, and the North Atlantic tracks.

SkyLink is satellite broadband service for business jets, offering 128Kb/s downlink and an uplink rate (ground to aircraft) as high as 3.5Mb/s. The system uses a tail-mounted dish antenna installed on larger Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault and Gulfstream business jets.

Partnering Arinc in the southern expansion is SkyLink investor and communications satellite company, SES Americom. The space segment for the Caribbean and expanded Americas coverage will be provided by SES Americom through a new ground station in Miami, Florida. The company says it is currently conducting "beta" tests on its SkyLink coverage of the North Atlantic tracks.

SkyLink has been operational over North America since 2005 and was introduced in Europe in September 2006.