The Cabinet has approved the proposal to award the contract to obtain high-speed satellite technical internet connectivity for seven A330-300 model aircraft of Sri Lankan Airlines Limited for a period of 07 years.
Accordingly, SriLankan Airlines Limited 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As passengers have to use low internet speed with the outdated internet facilities existing at present, it has been identified as a requirement of providing fast internet application facilities.
The Ka and Ku bands are used for high-end connections and due to the availability of a high frequency range, the Ka-band that provides high-speed data transfer
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,
It has been appraised by the Technical Evaluation Committee and the Standing Procurement Committee appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers and the recommendations have been forwarded.
