DOING BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF FLIGHT

Transcription

1 DOING BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF FLIGHT A SPECIAL ADVERTISING INSERT PREPARED FOR SATCOM DIRECT BY AIN PUBLICATIONS December 2014

2 EVOLUTION From pioneering direct dialing to and from the aircraft with its Global One Number service, to developing leadingedge technology for today and tomorrow, Satcom Direct provides connectivity for pilots and passengers at every altitude all over the world. Being a global provider of satellite communications solutions for business and military aviation means more than simply meeting customer demands. It means constant movement. To keep up with the always connected, everywhere demands of the industry both business and recreational dynamic innovation is job one for Satcom Direct. Founded in 1997 by pilot, inventor, and entrepreneur, Jim Jensen, the company s success has taken off through a combination of its dedication to the customer and its industry leadership in advancing new technologies. The foundation of our business is built on providing connectivity to the airplane through our own products and value-added services, as well as with strategic partnerships, said Curt Gray, Satcom Direct s Chief Technology Officer. We provide the pipe, or connection, to the aircraft through satellite links, connecting to a variety of providers. Bundled with other services and our proprietary offerings, we can deliver total solutions to our customers. The satellite networks that are available for business aviation are Iridium, Inmarsat and ViaSat, Gray explained. SITA and DIRECTV also provide services to the sector. Because we have relationships with all the key providers that serve business aviation, we can meet customer needs using any combination of the available networks, said Ken Bantoft, Satcom Direct s Vice President of Technology and Innovation. Gray said, We pride ourselves in not favoring one satellite network over the other. We work with all of them and we work equally well with all the different providers and manufacturers of satellite communications equipment. Many business aviation flight departments and charter operators have a mixed fleet of airplanes, and some also have helicopters. As a result, many operations need more than one satellite network to fulfill their inflight communication needs. They want a single access point so that they can call one person or one company to provide all services and connectivity for their flight department and for their entire fleet, Gray said. That s what Satcom Direct does very well. Then and Now In 1997, Satcom Direct introduced its first product, the Global One Number. This service allows callers on the ground to reach any handset on an aircraft via a directdial telephone number. Conversely, passengers and crew on the aircraft can call directly to any other number. Plus, instead of using the HF radio, pilots can report the aircraft s position to Air Traffic Service using the aircraft s Global One Number; in addition, MedAire customers may use it to reach AirCare Access. The Global One Number functionality works with Iridium, Inmarsat and Yonder (ViaSat) networks. To hear a demonstration of a Global One Number, call Satcom Direct s next breakthrough was AeroV (pronounced vee ), the first voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service designed specifically for aviation. AeroV offers simplified calling via the aircraft s satellite communication system, connecting seamlessly to landline, A SPECIAL ADVERTISING INSERT PREPARED FOR SATCOM DIRECT BY AIN PUBLICATIONS December 2014

3 mobile, aircraft and VoIP phones. The AeroV app enables any Android or iphone to be used as a handset in flight and supports caller ID, call waiting and three-way conferencing on the device. GlobalVT, announced at NBAA 2014 in Orlando, Fla., is the next generation of AeroV. GlobalVT has essentially the same capability as AeroV. The difference is that it ties back to the wireless telephone network so that calls are routed to and from the individual s wireless number, just like on the ground, said Scott Hamilton, Satcom Direct s Chief Strategy Officer. So, if you call someone from the airplane using the GlobalVT app on your iphone or Android, that person will see the incoming call as being from your number, he explained. If someone on the ground calls you, the call will be routed directly to your phone, as it normally would be. Essentially what we are doing is extending the capability of your cellular phone from the ground into the airborne environment. GlobalVT also allows users to send and receive text messages while on board. Although GlobalVT is a step up from AeroV, the company will continue to offer both. We have hundreds of AeroV customers and we will continue to support them, Bantoft said. The Power of Three Satcom Direct s ability to provide high-performance communications is delivered via a three-pronged approach: 1) its value-added partners, proprietary products, services and world-class support; 2) the Satcom Direct Router (SDR); and 3) TerraCom Direct, the Satcom Direct data center. Satcom Direct built its core business upon providing connectivity to the aircraft, Gray said. But we came to a point where we couldn t really expand into the newer technologies without having something on the airplane and on the ground that could talk to each other. Up to this point, we did not have equipment on the airplane dedicated to Satcom Direct. So Satcom Direct engineers created the SDR, the company s first hardware product. The Satcom Direct Router gives us a communications hub within the aircraft and creates a Wi-Fi access point; it also supports different satellite systems on the airplane, Gray continued. Depending on where they fly, most business jets use two to three different satellite systems. You need one common point to bring them all together. With this hub-and-spoke structure, the router is the hub with its spokes going out to different satellite networks. As long as you can get to the hub, you can talk to everything else. The SDR harnesses the technology to connect the aircraft in more powerful ways. From nose to tail, Satcom Direct is exploring opportunities for new services. For example, its engineers are currently working on monitoring capabilities related to data on the 429 bus, such as engine and other systems data. Currently, nobody on the ground has access to this data. The SDR will allow us to send the data, in real time, so that maintenance personnel and flight operations will know what s happening in the aircraft in real time, Bantoft explained. As Jim [Jensen, founder and CEO of Satcom Direct] likes to say, We re going to synchronize the aircraft with the flight department. And, yet, the SDR is more than a piece of hardware. Beyond serving as a communications hub, it is a dynamic platform for bringing new services to the cabin and the cockpit, and connectivity to newer satellite systems that are coming online, such as Inmarsat Global Xpress and Iridium NEXT, which will provide faster Internet service to aircraft. With the SDR, you will be ready for all the new technologies that are coming down the road, Gray added. The third prong in the system is TerraCom Direct, Satcom Direct s wholly controlled data center in Melbourne, Fla. Housed in a Tier 3 concrete bunker designed to withstand Category 5 hurricanes, the data center provides carrier-neutral bandwidth options, is supported by redundant bi-fuel generators, and supports multi-layer physical and network security. It is manned 24/7. Security, redundancy and reliability were our requirements for TerraCom Direct, Gray explained. It also has space for considerable expansion. All data to and from aircraft goes from the airtime providers through TerraCom Direct. Think again of the hub-and-spoke structure, Gray continued. The hub is the data center and each of the spokes goes to the satellite ground stations via secure lines. Everything flowing between the satellite and our data center is totally private. An extension of TerraCom Direct is Skyline, a private network option that can be built to provide a secure, direct link between a company s IT infrastructure and Satcom Direct s data center. With Skyline, employees flying on company aircraft, anywhere in the world, can securely log on to their corporate network via their laptops in the airplane. Several large corporations are currently employing this service, Gray said. Security Layers TerraCom Direct and its offerings include several security layers. From filtering malicious data attacks that could breach on-board computers to geo-fencing notifications in flight, key connection points are monitored throughout the communications chain. The Satcom Direct Router (SDR) is a dynamic platform for bringing new services to the cabin and the cockpit.

4 Satcom Direct offers numerous services and mobile apps that enable robust functionality and process integration. SERVICES: FlightDeck Freedom (cockpit data link) works with all major trip-planning providers and includes use of Satcom Direct s Flight Deck 360 app and SD Flight Tracker. SD Flight Tracker sm shows precise locations of an aircraft fleet worldwide using data from Inmarsat, Iridium, Yonder and SITA VHF. It offers overlays of weather, time zones and communications. OneView provides access to DIRECTV in the continental U.S. and international free-to-air television programming in Europe, the Middle East and India. APPS: MYflight sm displays real-time flight data and aircraft information for passengers. Completely mobile and the first of its kind, it needs only an Internet connection. getort+ and Get Satcom enable avionics technicians to connect to satcom systems for troubleshooting, diagnostics and configuration information. MATA sm troubleshoots connectivity and configuration of on-board satcom systems. FlightDeck 360 obtains clearances, accesses digital ATIS, monitors cabin communications and provides messaging. TerraCom Direct, Satcom Direct s wholly controlled data center, is located in Melbourne, Fla. EVOLUTION SkyShield acts as a filter to block certain software processes and applications that use large amounts of data, such as software updates, streaming audio and video and social media feeds. The problem is that the pipe on airplanes to satellite links has limitations and can be bogged down by background processes, Gray said. The last thing you want to do is take up bandwidth updating your laptop or streaming a movie. You don t want anything slowing you down when you are checking critical . Antenna size is the major limiting factor of the size of the pipe on aircraft, Hamilton explained. While 50 megabits per second [Mbps] is not uncommon with fiber connections and cable modems on the ground, even the largest antennas possible on the airliners can get only about 12 Mbps. Gulfstreamsize business jets might get 3 Mbps, while the small antennas on mid-size business jets might handle only 200 kilobits per second. So blocking unneeded data streaming in flight is a really big deal. SkyShield solves the problem of unintentional streaming of unwanted or unneeded data while flying. SkyShield provides four levels of filters to stop the processes or applications you do not wish to allow: Level 1: Software Updates; Level 2: Audio and Video; Level 3: Social Media; Level 4: Cloud Services (ie Box, Google Drive). Meanwhile, Satcom Direct is working on a new SkyShield level that will monitor the connection to the airplane to detect attempts to gain unauthorized access to a laptop or a device that may be on board. Hamilton said, If you get a virus on your laptop when you are flying, we will send an alert that this laptop has a virus and is, for example, trying to send out 100 s to random people. The company s geo-fencing service creates another level of inflight data security. Every country has the legal right to intercept data traffic if you are over its soil, Gray said. When you fly near or over certain countries, your data traffic may be redirected to a local satellite-access station and run through its domestic network. The U.S. is one of many countries that have been doing this for years, Bantoft said. Geo-fencing creates a sort of electronic boundary or indicator around countries and regions. The service warns the aircraft when it is approaching a country where its passengers may not want information in their s to be routed to the ground. Geo-fencing doesn t block the interception of the s. It simply tells you when you are getting close to a particular area so you can decide if you want to remain connected to your data network near and in that area, or not, Bantoft concluded. A SPECIAL ADVERTISING INSERT PREPARED FOR SATCOM DIRECT BY AIN PUBLICATIONS December 2014

5 REVOLUTION The role of the flight department is becoming more complex. Today s sophisticated avionics and satcom systems mean there is an increasing need for IT expertise on the team, which makes training more important than ever. Data security is another critical factor facing today s aircraft owners and operators. Satcom Direct considers training so important that it is a core value of the company, along with innovation and support. When a flight department adds new tools to an aircraft, the crew needs to know how to use these tools and the maintainers need to know how to keep them working. Beyond products and services, Satcom Direct provides comprehensive hands-on training to enable customers to get the maximum value and usefulness from their technology both from the products and services Satcom Direct provides and those they augment. The key message about training is that today s aircraft are no longer mainly mechanical with some base-level electronics systems, explained Bantoft. Aircraft now have multiple computers and systems onboard that are communicating with each other as well as outside the airplane. But the training that traditionally has been provided in the aviation industry is focused more toward mechanical systems. Nobody was talking about the newer avionics and other complex onboard systems that have evolved over the past ten years. Initially, Satcom Direct s training focused on teaching customers how to keep their systems operating. Then the team took the initiative to create training programs that encompass all the latest technologies, systems and advanced avionics. Plus, we have partnered with education providers, such as FlightSafety and TAG Aviation, which has allowed us to offer professional certification programs as well, Hamilton added. The Satcom Direct Training Programme will be covered in-depth in a follow-on special report, which will be inserted in the February 2015 issue of AIN. The Satcom Direct Rolling Lab is used for on-site customer training.

6 SOLUTION Satcom Direct supports the entire communications pipeline, making it the one resource you need for your satcom solutions. The company synchronizes the technologies and communications onboard the aircraft with the flight, passengers, crew, maintenance and IT departments internally, as well as with external OEM programs. While its competitors offer only a single piece of the data chain, Satcom Direct offers the entire end-to-end data solution supported, worldwide, by well-known and respected industry experts. Satcom Direct strives to provide unparalleled support to customers with a variety of touchpoints, such as 24/7 availability worldwide in local languages, a single support number ( ) that is always answered by a real person, and a single point of contact the customer s dedicated account manager. Satcom Direct employees are working every day to improve the experience for their customers. We call it follow-the-sun support, said Bantoft. This means that wherever the sun is up, that s the region that is handling the support calls. The company is doing even more customization for customers now, he continued. For example, we have a dedicated integration team for the Satcom Direct Router that works with sales reps, OEMs and dealers to better understand exactly what the customers want to experience onboard, what they are looking for in performance and what sort of voice services they need. So when customers take delivery of their aircraft, their satcom systems are designed and built to their specific requirements. Instead of selling boxes and telling customers what these boxes do, we re asking customers, What challenges do you have, what solutions do you need and how do you expect these solutions to work? Hamilton said, We are enhancing the in flight experience to make it more functional for the passenger. Communications systems on aircraft operate differently from communications in your home or your office. You have this big metal tube moving at 450 knots at About Satcom Direct Satcom Direct is in the business of connections. In the air, on the water or on land, it uses today s most sophisticated technologies to satisfy the most basic of needs: connecting people to each other. Satcom Direct, a premier Inmarsat Distribution Partner, Iridium Service Partner and ViaSat Yonder s preferred reseller, is the leading provider of satellite voice and broadband data solutions for flight deck and cabin communications serving business, military, government and head of state aircraft. Corporate flight departments worldwide are among Satcom Direct s customers. The company continues to advance its services through mobile applications and value-added benefits from flight deck data link to cabin communications making Satcom Direct the leader in aeronautical satcom service. Satcom Direct s headquarters and primary operations center are located in Satellite Beach, Fla., with additional office locations in the U.S., and international offices in Canada, Brazil, UK, UAE, China, Switzerland and Russia. A SPECIAL ADVERTISING INSERT PREPARED FOR SATCOM DIRECT BY AIN PUBLICATIONS December 2014

7 40,000 feet and the physics of that means that you have to do some things differently from a communications standpoint. Our mission is to make the user s experience on the airplane as close as possible to what it would be in an office or at home. These are complicated systems, Bantoft continued. Think home automation. You want to hook up your thermostat to your lights, and your TV and speakers to two sound zones. How do you want to control these with remotes, using a touch panels on a wall, with your mobile phone or all three? A lot of complexity goes into cabins these days and we re there to help. We want to make sure the customer gets the best experience possible. The Interface of the Future As Satcom Direct advances to its next phase of development, it is investigating ways to help flight departments to make better use of all the information that is coming from the aircraft. It is not just sending data to the aircraft and engine OEMs, Hamilton said. Now we take a solutions approach to figure out what is the best way to manage that data. We want to synchronize the aircraft with the flight department. We want everybody to be on the same page all the time with exactly what is going on Jim Jensen, founder and CEO of Satcom Direct with Silo. with the airplane, even to the extent that they know exactly what communications devices are on board and connected to the aircraft. Are these lofty goals? Absolutely. But without a doubt, Satcom Direct has the people, the resources and the drive to provide connectivity for pilots and passengers at every altitude all over the world. Fly with Satcom Direct onboard! The Owner Is a Customer, Too Motivational speakers encourage walking the walk and talking the talk, but that doesn t hold a candle to flying the plane while testing the company s products. That s exactly what Jim Jensen, founder and CEO of Satcom Direct, does. Satcom Direct operates its own flight department and uses its fleet for testing products, as well as for business travel, including visiting customers. The company started with a Cessna 172, stepped up to a Beechcraft Bonanza and then took the big leap into turbines with a Falcon 20 and a Citation. According to Curt Gray, Chief Technology Officer, Because he is both the owner and a pilot, Jim has really helped to convey the Satcom Direct message to corporate flight departments. We use the same services on our airplanes as they do and we re doing our own flight testing of new services, too. Satcom Direct s Cessna Citation CJ3

8 Data Solutions for Every Latitude, Every Altitude SATCOM AD\TK Take your data security to the next altitude. TerraCom Direct protects the transmission of data to and from your aircraft. Satcom Direct provides the pipe. Together, we make it possible for you to securely connect to the internet, text, talk and stream data while in flight. TerraCom Direct brings enterprise level security and added peace of mind on the ground and in the air. To learn about airborne and terrestrial data security solutions, visit or call Powered by Satcom Direct