AirCell will begin conducting flight demonstrations of its aircraft-to-ground link this July. Personal mobile phones and other wireless devices will connect with terrestrial relays. Aircell demonstrated 300 to 500 kbps last summer, with peak rates up to 2.4 megabits per second.
Targeted for commercial deployment in 2006, the AirCell Broadband System will incorporate a fully-integrated wireless cabin connected to the ground over a dedicated terrestrial broadband air-to-ground link.
AirCell says commercial airlines will be able to install and operate their broadband system for a fraction of the cost of satellite-based alternatives. Passengers will be able to operate their own mobile phones, laptops and other personal electronic devices in flight at prices very similar to what they pay on the ground.
The flight demonstration program will showcase an advanced prototype of the AirCell Broadband System aboard a custom-equipped private jet.
Key components of the demonstration System include:
- A broadband terrestrial air-to-ground link for high-speed connection directly from the aircraft to the ground. The link will utilize a limited number of ground cellular sites temporarily outfitted with special antennas and electronics under AirCell’s experimental license from the FCC. The technology employed will provide a “to-the-seat” user experience that averages 300 to 500 Kbps, with peak speeds of 3.1 Mbps — comparable to a typical WiFi ‘hotspot.’
- An Iridium satellite link provides extended, global coverage for voice and low-speed data service when outside U.S. terrestrial coverage. This link can be integrated with the domestic broadband link, or serve as a stand-alone off-aircraft link outside the U.S.
- A cabin Picocell that allows demonstration participants to place and receive calls on their own personal cellular phones.
- A Cabin Telecommunications Router that provides high-speed, in-cabin WiFi (802.11b/g).
AirCell remains the only company to receive regulatory approval to use cellular frequencies for airborne broadband. The AirCell Broadband System is targeted for initial airline trials beginning in mid-2006. AirCell will initially cover the continental U.S. and plans to expand service to include Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
The FCC (pdf), voted to give airline passengers high-speed Internet connections while they fly. The unanimous vote means air travelers could be surfing the Web by 2006. The FCC allocated the 849-851/894-895 MHz bands for air-ground radiotelephone service.
Cell phone technology was not designed for aircraft connections. From an airplane, a cell phone can connect to nearly any cell site in view below, causing turmoil for carriers, especially as a jet passes by one cell after another far more quickly than the systems were designed for. Aircell antennas point up and pass connections to other Aircell sites.
Left undecided has been the issue of how many companies the FCC would allow, through an auction, to offer such services. Verizon Airfone, the unit of Verizon currently provides the phones in the seat backs of about 1,500 of the nation’s jetliners, and has argued that the FCC should give exclusive rights to one bidder (them). Verizon Airfone currently holds the license for the 4 MHz slot at 800 Mhz which it uses for its satellite phone and (slow) data service. The new FCC plan would open up that spectrum to all bidders, resulting in at least two nationwide air-ground licenses (Airfone and Aircell).
“Our rules for the 800 MHz commercial air-ground service has been locked in a narrowly defined technological and regulatory box and have kept passengers from using their wireless devices on planes,” FCC chairman Michael Powell said in a statement after the commission s ruling.
Aircell’s ground-to-air stations, at $80,000, are cheaper then satellite links.
Boeing’s Connexion, which already offers a more expensive satellite Internet service, is used mostly on wide-body jets used for international travel. Boeing charges around $500,000 for Connexion providing a 5Mbps shared downstream and 1Mbps shared upstream. Vodafone and Connexion plan to jointly trial in-flight Wi-Fi.
Meanwhile Tenzing (now owned by Airbus and called OnAir), uses the Inmarsat satellite system which many planes already have for aircraft communications. It runs $100,000 – $200,000. Tenzing plans to use Inmarsat’s new Spotbeam Satellite to provide over 400 Kbps to aircraft cabins.
Glenn Fleishman has a full review of Connexion at Tom’s Networking. The service is available on certain planes and routes from Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, SAS, ANA, and Japan Airlines, with China Airlines, El Al, and Korean Air coming this year.
Flights of less than three hours cost $14.95 for unlimited use; three to six hours, $19.95; and more than six hours, $29.95. Connexion’s pay-as-you-go option offers 30 minutes for $9.95 and 25 cents per minute thereafter. Tom Myers, director of marketing at AirCell, says, “Our system is targeting a price of nine or ten dollars per flight.”
Aircell and Tenzing may lower costs for in-plane WiFi and enable smaller domestic and commuter airlines to offer internet access.
