Vehicle Electrification - November 30, 2011 - 29

November 30, 2011

Aircraft equipped with Row 44’s antenna systems can communicate with Intelsat’s satellites.

many aeronautic architectures. Cellular phone connections aren’t allowed in the U.S. at this time, but they are growing in popularity in other regions. Several Middle Eastern airlines permit their usage, and British Airways allows cell phone connections on some flights. Though commercial passengers in the U.S. can’t connect directly to cell towers, America’s aircraft industry is not ignoring the wireless boom. Services such as Gogo Inc.’s Inflight Internet service uses cellular links to bring Web access to passengers. Gogo, which provides services for American Airlines, Delta, and others, deploys cellular technology provided by Aircell. Aircell announced an upgrade to its Air-to-Ground (ATG) system to 4G connections early this year, with plans to begin deliveries in mid2012. ATG-4 will provide around four times more bandwidth than the ATG that’s now flying on many commercial airlines. ATG employs 3G wireless that uses Evolution-Data Optimized Revision A. ATG-4 gets its speed increases by employing a directional antenna, dual modem, and EV-DO Rev. B technologies. This revision provides higher data rates and the ability to combine three or four carriers. Along
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with the enhanced antenna and modem, they yield significant benefits without a major increase in size. Avionics system developers will continue to benefit from the rapid pace of the consumer industry. Cell phone providers are continuously pushing technology. Networking schemes used inside the aircraft are also moving forward. The Wi-Fi links used to connect passengers to the plane’s server have advanced rapidly as the volunteers who create IEEE standards have created faster versions of the 802.11 standards that are now common on notebooks, tablets, and smart phones. “The standards for connectivity are not driven by the aerospace industry; they’re driven by commercial standards like 802.11, which has gone from a to b and on to n,” Ellis said. “We’re also impacted by cell phones as they go from 3G to 4G to LTE.” Commercial and business aviation are also benefiting from another communications trend, this one driven in part by defense communities. Demand for satellite services has skyrocketed in recent years, driven in part by the U.S. Department of Defense. DOD buyers have made a major shift from using proprietary communications satellites to buying bandwidth from commercial providers. Many other countries have similar plans, and non-military agencies like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are also turning to commercial suppliers. These trends, along with growing commercial demand, have driven a significant expansion in satellite communications over the past decade. It shows no signs of slowing down. A Northern Sky Research report released this summer predicted that the global mobile satellite services market will grow to
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Vehicle Electrification - November 30, 2011

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