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| A passenger using TrueNorth’s Optelity in-flight connectivity service. Photo: TrueNorth Avionics. |
[Avionics Magazine 06-07-2016] TrueNorth Avionics has introduced Connected.aero, the company’s new airborne connectivity service at the Global Connected Aircraft Summit 2016. According to TrueNorth Avionics, Connected.aero will be aviation’s first hybrid cloud solution designed to amplify bandwidth and create an airborne In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) experience that rivals what passengers are used to on the ground.
With characteristically lower bandwidth, in-flight internet has challenges. A variety of accidental activities can cause reduced speeds. For example, passenger mobile devices doing background updates consume a big chunk of usable bandwidth. Interruptive content may load before desired content, eating still more bandwidth and curtailing speed. In addition, when an aircraft flies through different satellite coverage areas, dropped connections can occur. Connected.aero’s hybrid cloud model acts as a service provider independent and designed specifically for use with TrueNorth’s Optelity Pro Cabin Gateway product.
“Even with faster services are coming online, there will always be a need to improve the airborne internet experience,” said Stephen Newell, head of business development at TrueNorth. “Mobile devices will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and only exacerbate the problem of limited bandwidth. Optelity Pro with connected.aero will address the challenges of the skinnier pipe, and the constant introduction of new devices. This new service option will support the growing range of satellite connectivity services — regardless of the specific type of link, or service provider.”
TrueNorth has created connected.aero as an option with it’s Optelity Pro product, and it will use a variety of techniques to reduce bandwidth-hogging data sessions such as background updates, block interruptive content, dropped connections and more. In addition, it will increase bandwidth using channel bonding, compression and acceleration. Since in-flight internet bandwidth is often at a premium, reducing needless data transmission by stopping it at the source.