Justin Wastnage / orlando
Lufthansa Technik (LHT) has received the first certification of an onboard wireless local area network (LAN) for commercial and business jets. The system, known as Networked Integrated Cabin Equipment (NICE), has been jointly developed with Cisco Systems and Videon and has been installed on a privately owned Boeing Business Jets BBJ2, operated by UK charter company Multiflight. A second installation on a BBJ is under way at LHTs Hamburg completion centre.
NICE controls all cabin functions and devices, including DVD players and passenger control units through a handheld device, and distributes audio/video and data over a digital Ethernet network.
The wireless internet (WiFi) system had undergone six months of testing in Hamburg, before three months of onboard flight trials. LHT senior vice-president engineering and production Bernhard Conrad says NICE was developed following customer demand for high-end in-flight entertainment and builds on VIP completions carried out over several years.
LHT will sell the system to third parties including original equipment manufacturers and rival completion centres. NICE will also be available as a retrofit as it is designed for any size aircraft from a Boeing 747 to a 28 volt business jet. "We need to sell it to everyone we can to recover our development costs," he adds.
Source: Flight International
