United Airlines Inks Deal With Elon Musk's SpaceX To Provide Free Inflight Wi-Fi Via Starlink

United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL has announced plans to offer free inflight Wi-Fi to its passengers, using SpaceX‘s Starlink service, on Friday.

What Happened: This marks one of the largest inflight internet deals for the SpaceX business, CNBC reported on Friday.

Other airlines such as Delta Air Lines and Hawaiian Airlines also offer complimentary inflight Wi-Fi, with the latter having a deal with Starlink. JetBlue Airways has been providing free Wi-Fi for years.

SpaceX has previously partnered with semi-private airline JSX for a similar deal. The company has been steadily expanding its Starlink network since its launch in 2020. Currently, around 6,000 Starlink satellites are in orbit, serving over 3 million customers in 100 countries. While initially targeting consumer customers, SpaceX has branched out into other markets, including aviation.

See Also: Elon Musk Says X Intends To Obey The Law In Each Jurisdiction, But If Free Speech Is Not Illegal Then ‘What Are We Doing’

Why It Matters: This development comes on the heels of Starlink’s partnership with Qatar Airways in May, marking the first complimentary Wi-Fi service in the MENA region. By July, Starlink had contracts to provide connectivity to over 1,000 aircraft globally.

Despite the rapid expansion, concerns about competition in the space industry have been raised. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel emphasized the need for competition, noting that Starlink accounts for nearly two-thirds of all active satellites in orbit.

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Image: Shutterstock/ Rokas Tenys

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari