Passenger propensity
for onboard wi-
wherever there is good visibility, which can then be
relayed from the GEO satellite down to the aircraft.
“The idea of HydRON is a network concept, so if I
connect all the players together with a network in orbit,
I can decide – depending on the weather – to bring it to
one satellite, or to another satellite on the other side of
the world which has better connection to ground due to
weather conditions,” says ESA’s Dr Hauschildt.
Another issue is that while RF systems can
simultaneously deliver wi-fi to numerous receivers, with
lasers it’s one to one, i.e. one satellite laser to one aircraft
at a time. That’s good for security, but this means that the
satellite will have to send and receive data to one aircraft
for a burst of about 10 seconds, and then do the same
with other aircraft in the region. Therefore an ongoing
challenge is that a ‘concept of operations’ has to be
developed to cope with one satellite connecting to
multiple aircraft.
A SPACE DATA HIGHWAY ECOSYSTEM
Beyond the efforts of building this laser-enabled
infrastructure there’s a broader ambition, explains ESA’s
Dr Hauschildt: “We want to use these programmes to give
companies the chance to build up their knowledge in
optical communications, so we want to do two things:
One is a vision where we want to have these technologies
in orbit. But we also want – and this is one of the aims
of ESA – to build up knowledge in European countries
so that in the end they can later on compete in space
programmes. It’s important that you have the money to
build hardware that actually flies, because the challenges
are different if it flies or if it is just tested in the lab. It’s the
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
074 SEPTEMBER 2019
joint aim of the ESA’s Member
States to make that happen.”
TIMELINES
Despite the fact that elements
of the infrastructure are
already in place (such as two of
the intended four GEO satellites
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that are equipped for optical data
106
transfer), it will be some time before laser-enabled
onboard wi-fi is available for airline passengers.
“I’m afraid we’re still talking about 10 years,” says Dr
Hauschildt, “But the important message is perhaps that
Europe is currently trying to increase its efforts in optical
communications, and that’s why we have programmes
like ScyLight’. This ‘fibre-in-the-sky’ project is very
ambitious and way beyond what anybody else is doing
in the world right now – we‘re really at the forefront.
Member States have seen that optical is the future. With
this kind of investment and the technical challenges
ahead of us, 10 years is realistic to have it in operational
mode. Initially the system will be tested over Europe and
the Atlantic, but the vision is that this network will be
deployed as a global fibre network in the sky.”
MORE SPECTRUM
Boeing believes there is a
“substantial need” to make
additional spectrums available
for unlicensed use in aviation,
particularly in frequency bands
below 24GHz where transmitting
equipment may already be available
with only minor modifications.
“This need for additional
unlicensed spectrum is particularly
critical inside large commercial
aircraft, which are becoming the
most congested wireless operating
environment in the world,” Boeing
wrote to the FCC in April 2019.
Thus Boeing proposes that the
cabins of large aircraft be treated
as equivalent to indoor locations
for the purposes of the FCC’s rules
for unlicensed devices operating
in the 6GHz band. Boeing studies
have found that the fuselage of a
large aircraft provides radio signal
attenuation levels of at least 17.3dB
on average in the frequency range of
6GHz, which is comparable or better
than the attenuation produced by
building construction materials.
Further, unlicensed transmitters
within large aircraft operate at very
low power levels (around 20mW)
due to the confined space within
the cabin and the need to reuse the
same channels in different sections
of the aircraft. As a result, any
transmissions emitting outside the
fuselage will be nearly undetectable
just beyond the aircraft’s wingspan.
Low-cost carriers see inflight
connectivity as an ancillary revenue
opportunity, while some full service
carriers regard free onboard wi-fi as
a brand differentiator. Whatever the
brand positioning, onboard Internet
has become intrinsic to the passenger
experience. Inmarsat Aviation’s most
recent Inflight Connectivity Survey
found that 74% of business travellers
feel that inflight wi-fi is crucial, with
almost 87% of business travellers
stating that if inflight wi-fi was
available they would be likely to work
on a plane. 58% already regularly use
inflight wi-fi to download, read and
send emails, rising to 72% of business
class passengers and 75% of first class
passengers.
Significantly, onboard wi-fi is
now a loyalty factor, with the survey
indicating that 67% of passengers
would be more likely to rebook
with an airline if inflight wi-fi
were available, rising to 81%
of passengers travelling
with children, and 83% of
business travellers.
“ Europe is currently trying to
increase its efforts in optical
communications”
L A SER C ONNECTI V IT Y
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