Inflight connectivity tech firm SkyFive says it has signed a MoU with Kazakh telecoms operator Freedom Telecom to provide inflight connectivity to airlines and other aircraft operators using SkyFive’s air-to-ground (A2G) solution.
Under the deal, SkyFive and Freedom Telecom will deploy A2G coverage for Kazakhstan’s main air route, which they say is also a key overflight corridor for routes between Europe and Asia.
Skyfive said this will enable foreign airlines equipped with A2G to seamlessly roam into the new network, which will be compatible with other SkyFive A2G networks.
SkyFive CCO Dirk Lindemeier said the deal marks its entry into the Central Asian aviation market.
“Kazakhstan is important in its own right, represents a significant step toward a contiguous A2G corridor across the Eurasian supercontinent, and is a major addition to our global A2G footprint,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
SkyFive – which was spun off from Nokia in 2019 – has launched services across Europe and has established an A2G network in Saudi Arabia. It is developing others in Australia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey, according to Aviation Week.
In October 2024, SkyFive and Viasat signed of a roaming agreement between the European Aviation Network (EAN) and SkyFive’s Middle East networks.
Freedom Telecom received regulatory approvals to provide A2G connectivity earlier this year. Freedom Telecom CEO Kairat Akhmetov said that its A2G deal ties into its broader strategy to provide connectivity to airports across the country.
“Freedom Telecom has already provided free Wi-Fi coverage to the international airports of Almaty and Astana, and we are committed to extending connectivity to all airports across Kazakhstan by the end of this year," Akhmetov said.
Freedom Telecom says it has already launched free Wi-Fi in 150 locations across Kazakhstan, with plans to achieve blanket Wi-Fi coverage across all cities.
The operator also said it has constructed over 2,500 km of fibre infrastructure and connected 24,000 households to high-speed broadband internet in the last two years.
In February, Freedom Telecom said it was investing around US$200 million to develop a “West-East” fiber-optic hyper-highway and Tier-4 data centers in a bid to position Kazakhstan as an alternative route for international data transit between Europe and East Asia. The project is slated for completion sometime in 2026.
