3G services on business jets

September 13, 2006

TriaGnoSys and 3Way Networks are to launch the first 3G inflight passenger communications service for the Business Jet market. The announcement was made at the annual gathering of the airline entertainment industry, the WAEA Conference in Miami. The new inflight communications solution will for the first time provide time-pressed executives travelling on business jets with the ability to stay connected to the office and customers, by making and receiving calls and using their laptops to access bandwidth heavy 3G applications.

The hassle factor of flying on commercial aircraft is resulting in record growth in the Business Jet market in Europe and North America and a corresponding growth in demand for inflight connectivity capabilities on those aircraft, according to TriaGnoSys, the provider of remote communications using satellite technology. Since 2001, business jet travel has grown twice as fast as the rest of air traffic, according to air traffic management agency EUROCONTROL.

Dr Nigel Cooke, Chairman of ScotAsh, the joint venture between multinational Lafarge and Scottish Power, said, "It goes without saying that it will be advantageous to almost any executive to be able to be contactable while flying. Business decisions don't wait."

The inflight passenger communications services being developed jointly by TriaGnoSys and 3Way Networks, the 3G equipment specialist, meets the specific needs of the business jet market including the very fast growing microjet market: the equipment is lightweight, weighing less than 4 Kg; it is compact, has low power consumption and is easy to install and maintain.

Dr Axel Jahn, Managing Director of TriaGnoSys, said, "We have prioritised the Business Jet market as this is where we are seeing the greatest demand for 3G bandwidth dependent capabilities. The flexibility and cost effectiveness of the service makes it commercially viable to install and run on business jets of all sizes."

Simon Albury, 3Way Networks Sales and Marketing VP, said, "The beauty of the system is that the onboard equipment is limited to a single 3G Aviation Cell that interconnects with the existing aircraft satellite communications system. The core network will be hosted by a terrestrial based operator."

The system will allow 10 simultaneous voice calls and offer High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) rates of 3.6 Mbits/s.