At last year’s NBAA Convention, Panasonic (Booth 3432) launched its business aviation connectivity efforts with the announcement that it had selected Astronics Aerosat as its hardware manufacturer. At this year’s show, the company announced that it has named Satcom Direct (SD) as its first business aviation value-added reseller.
“With our proven leadership in connectivity, renowned customer focus and understanding of the market, we have the ability to deliver high-throughput connectivity to our customers across the world with Panasonic’s worldwide footprint,” said Scott Hamilton, Satcom Direct’s chief strategy officer.
Panasonic’s Global Ku-band network includes 19 satellites, and is approved to operate in more than 200 countries. It provides 99.6-percent global air route coverage, with the only gaps coming at the poles. “For business aviation customers, staying connected is more than just email,” said David Bruner, Panasonic’s vice president for global communications. “With SD, we are changing the game in business aviation communications.”
Intended primarily for in-flight entertainment, the Panasonic system provides internet connectivity, wireless content streaming from an onboard server to portable devices, global cellphone functionality and live television. “Our live television is a unique service in that you don’t have to add additional equipment to the aircraft,” said David Bruner, Panasonic’s vice president for global communications. “The same hardware that provides you with this highest bandwidth available in the marketplace also delivers live television.” A proprietary sports broadcast channel holds licensing for all major events.
The company is already deploying high-throughput satellite service and is also designing extreme-throughput satellite capacity to ensure the best possible experience for this market. Panasonic’s open architecture network means it can easily scale its satellite network to meet growing bandwidth needs of business aviation. “One of the concepts we’ve introduced for this particular business segment is what we call prioritized traffic,” said Bruner. “For this customer group they want a consistent service wherever they fly. Essentially they get first shot at every piece of bandwidth that’s available.”
According to Marshal Perlman, Panasonic’s general manager for business aviation, its satcom system has received FAA DO-160 authorization and the first example is currently being installed on a Gulfstream IV. The company expects to receive an STC for the installation by year-end. Since it is a Ku-based system, from a retrofit perspective it can utilize the same radome as existing Ku systems, saving thousands of dollars on installation costs, as well as speeding the upgrade process.
