The satellite will also serve as a bridge for television signals between the U.S. West Coast and countries in the Pacific, replacing Intelsat 8. Customers include Discovery Networks, MTV, ESPN, CNBC and BBC World.

Satellite broadband service to aircraft got an early start in 2001 with Boeing's Connexion service, but the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 that year saw U.S. airlines cut back on in-flight amenities and the service ultimately failed. A second generation of services has been recently launched.

On Monday Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) became the latest international airline to announce plans to deliver broadband access via satellite to passengers. ANA will use the OnAir service from Intelsat rival Inmarsat and plans to launch on Boeing 767 and 777 aircraft from mid-2013. ANA was once a customer of Connexion by Boeing.

The IDG News Service