November 15, 2016 – Global broadband services and technology company, ViaSat, has announced its acquisition of Arconics, a provider of software solutions to the aviation industry. According to ViaSat, the expertise, aviation-grade software and mobile applications gained through the acquisition will bring benefits in inflight entertainment and open new service and revenue opportunities for airlines, and make flying safer and more efficient for pilots, cabin crews and flight operations teams.
Of particular interest to ViaSat was the Arconics connected aircraft software platform, which enables the Arconics App Suite, a package that spans wireless IFE, electronic flight bag (EFB), airline document management and cabin management solutions, to communicate and share data with the aircraft and, using available connectivity, to connect with ground systems across mobile or avionics platforms.
“By acquiring Arconics, we are bolstering our ability to serve the global aviation market,” said Don Buchman, vice president and general manager of commercial mobility at ViaSat. “We believe combining our strengths with Arconics will position ViaSat to be the market leader for connectivity, passenger services and flight deck applications and operations.”
Prior to the acquisition, Arconics had a partnership with ViaSat, primarily focused on serving the wireless IFE needs of multiple airline customers. Post-acquisition, ViaSat expects to also offer airlines real-time insight, control and agility of aircraft and flight data with highly integrated, highly customizable aircraft operations tools that tap into ViaSat’s high capacity Ka-band satellite network, which is claimed to have more capacity in orbit than any other in-flight wi-fi provider.
