Danish-based Satcom1 is here to show how its AvioIP suite of Inmarsat-based satcoms applications can be hosted on a laptop rather than a more bulky and permanently installed cabin server/router.
Company engineer Francois Goudal is demonstrating the capability at the stand. “This is applicable to any VIP aircraft operation, which would benefit from the many different features that AvioIP has to offer,” he says. “But it’s particularly right for smaller aircraft, in which avionics bay space may be hard to find.”
Among the capabilities supported by AvioIP are onboard cellular phone, voice over IP (VoIP), videoconferencing and IP television (IPTV).
“We have carried out installations of our onboard cellphone solution on a Boeing BBJ and on VIP versions of the Airbus A330 and A340 airliners,” says Goudal. “And we are talking to Dassault operators who want the capability on their Falcon 2000s and 900s – we expect first installations before the end of the year.”
Satcom1 is offering two complementary solutions based on a wireless LAN in the aircraft cabin. “For the first we provide the user with a BlackBerry Curve personal digital assistant and SIM card,” says Goudal. “This can communicate via WiFi with the Inmarsat terminal on the aircraft to support incoming and outgoing voice calls, text messaging and BlackBerry push email.”
Under the other approach the user keeps his own SIM card and installs it in a mobile phone or PDA selected from a list of compatible devices. The phone can then be used to make and receive voice calls in flight. “The process is completely transparent to anyone calling the user from the ground,” comments Goudal.
The required aircraft equipment, which can support several phones simultaneously, comprises JetLAN AR250 server/wireless router from NAT Seattle and an Inmarsat Aero H+, Swift 64 or SwiftBroadband installation. The first arrangement has just been successfully tested on the BBJ, Goudal says, and both solutions have been validated with Swift 64 and Aero H+.
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Source: Flight Daily News
