Insight | Why staying connected matters
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I remember vividly my very first flight back in 1982, when the family took off on holiday to Maryland in the US; it was to give me a passion for flying that would lead, eventually, to me working within aviation, an industry I love. Way back then, and it is a few years ago, mobile phones were in their infancy and required a trolley to carry them around. Who would have thought that they would have transformed into the hand-held, mobile smart devices we take for granted today, allowing us to connect wirelessly to the Internet to send and access data, photos, text messages and stream TV and video.
The one thing we all know about technology is that it never stands still. Today, I believe we are on the cusp of yet another ‘revolution’ in global mobile communications – access to fast, uninterrupted inflight connectivity at speeds we are now used to at home. And this will be thanks to Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) – the world’s first worldwide Ka-band mobile satellite system, which is on track for global commercial service introduction by early in the second half of 2015, both for commercial passengers and for business aviation.
VIP and business jet owners and operators will have access to Internet speeds of 50Mbps, everywhere in the world. It will be the fastest inflight Internet connection available and will provide consistent coverage all over the world. This service is called Jet ConneX.
Powering Jet ConneX is Inmarsat’s constellation of Global Xpress Ka-band satellites. Each one is seven meters tall and the solar arrays, which provide the satellite’s power, have the same wing-span as a Boeing 737. Once in orbit nearly 36,000km from Earth they weigh 3,750kg each. Three of them in orbit will provide global coverage.
The first satellite is already in orbit over the Indian Ocean and entered commercial operation in the summer. The second and third birds – they do fly! – have been built and will be launched in early 2015.
Honeywell is building the aircraft avionics, called JetWave. The development schedule is well on course; the terminal has started the RTCA (Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics) DO 160 testing and qualification phase.
Everything is on track for Jet ConneX to start flying next year. But why is it so important?
Regardless of where you are, being out of touch is no longer an option for today’s business executives. That is as true in a plane as it is in a taxi or a restaurant. It is therefore essential for every business and VIP aircraft to be equipped with inflight connectivity.
People travelling in business jets need to be able to use their phones, access email, browse the internet and read the news wherever they are in the world. Likewise, the flight and cabin crew need consistent and constant connectivity to make the flight as efficient and comfortable as possible.
While communications connectivity is at the core of what Jet ConneX aviation services will provide to the aviation industry, it will also be able to offer new applications, video streaming and high-speed broadband Internet access for enhanced browsing – providing enough bandwidth and capacity to replicate an office experience in the sky.
And the reason business jet owners and operators are already choosing Jet ConneX is because it is designed specifically for the rigours of aviation, while providing reliable global coverage delivered through robust, reliable technology.
While other Ka-band solutions were originally designed for TV broadcast services and therefore have limited coverage over oceans, passengers using Jet ConneX aviation services will have a continuous, consistent service, across all time zones. Traffic is handed seamlessly across Inmarsat’s wholly owned and operated global satellite network, as opposed to a ‘patchwork’ network that’s stitched together from multiple satcom assets owned and operated by a variety of organisations.
There is an important third factor: performance. Jet ConneX aviation services will deliver up to 50Mbps, providing reliable, high-speed broadband.
So just as twenty years ago, when the prospect of your mobile phone acting as a portable mini-computer seemed implausible, I can see a time in the near future when the idea of not being seamlessly connected via your mobile devices while you fly will also seem like ancient history. I wonder where we will be in twenty years’ time?
Kurt Weidemeyer is Vice President Business and General Aviation for Inmarsat Aviation.
Prior to this role, Kurt was the Director of the Satellite Communications Product Line in Marketing and Product Management at Honeywell responsible for P&L and overall health of the product line. His broad-ranging experience includes roles in Business Aviation services, IT leadership and an overseas role leading Customer and Product Support Order Management. He joined Inmarsat in September 2013 after having spent nine years at Honeywell. He earned his MBA at the University of Maryland.
