SITAONAIR and Teledyne innovate industry’s first aircraft cockpit comms cellular service

Monday 19 June 2017 – SITAONAIR and Teledyne Controls are joining forces to deliver the aviation industry’s first-ever airline-integrated ACARS datalink terrestrial cellular service.

This new partnership – announced today between SITAONAIR, the airline datalink communications world-leaders, and avionics manufacturer Teledyne Controls – represents an important evolution in airline and aircraft communications.

Datalink services are chiefly provided using VHF/VDL radio frequencies and satellites to transmit data messages, communicating vital real-time aircraft status, health and position updates between an aircraft and its airline’s flight operations.

By using Teledyne Controls’ GroundLink® Comm+ system, SITAONAIR is able to integrate terrestrial cellular services into its core datalink network, giving airlines the flexibility of another transmission channel for aircraft communications, bringing multiple benefits. 

This is the first-ever option of its kind in the aircraft communications market and benefits to airlines of enabling the datalink service over 3G/4G include:

• Providing increased capacity for message transmission with levels of service, support and proactive monitoring that airlines have come to expect
• Relieving traditional datalink networks in congested airports
• Delivering the service through consistent interfaces and integrating the datalink infrastructure for seamless service delivery across networks
• Supplementing VHF datalink ground coverage in sparse areas.

“The GroundLink® Comm+ system automates the wireless distribution of navigation databases and Software Parts, provides data interfaces for cockpit Electronic Flight Bags, and now provides datalink over terrestrial cellular IP, all while systematically collecting recorded flight data from the airline’s fleet and delivering it to the airline.”