TrueNorth Avionics’ Optelity Cabin Gateway has been approved by SmartSky Networks for use on the upcoming SmartSky 4G air-to-ground network. The company says this will enable fast, unlimited streaming of content such as HD movies to multiple devices on the largest business jets.
“Achieving the FCC’s authorization for this network is an essential advance in the world of cabin communications systems and we congratulate SmartSky on this milestone,” said Mark van Berkel, CEO at TrueNorth. “We’d also like to congratulate the hardware suppliers and MRO partners who are working on STCs for the forthcoming launch.”
The Optelity Pro Cabin Gateway features integrated routing capabilities along with aviation-certified wi-fi and telephony. The modular system is built to readily incorporate emerging technologies – for example, future 802.11 wi-fi and LTE standards – as they come online.
“Increasingly, aircraft are operating networks of networks, just like on the ground,” said Steve Newell, chief commercial officer at TrueNorth. “An increasing number of aircraft owners are opting to have three, four or five airborne networks. Optelity is an incredibly fast streaming product and its unmatched wireless delivery capability provides unrestricted aircraft data and content streaming to bring HD movies to the multiple devices of all the passengers in the largest business jets.”
“We opted for an open ecosystem to enable partnering with impressive industry leaders like TrueNorth, allowing our customers to choose from the best available cabin wireless access points,” said Ryan Stone, president at SmartSky Networks. “The TrueNorth Optelity Pro permits customers to create a customized hybrid inflight connectivity solution with intelligent routing, combining their preferred satellite system with SmartSky 4G to take advantage of the most attractive capabilities of each network.”
“Purchasers will appreciate the fact that they can buy an Optelity Pro Cabin Gateway today knowing that it will be ready when the SmartSky network goes live,” said van Berkel.
November 1, 2016
