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impression that air-to-ground is ideal for every situation. Because their ter- restrial coverage areas are confined to the Continental U.S, ATG solutions obviously can’t deliver the global con- nectivity offered by satellites.
“We know that air-to-ground is not a stand-alone solution for many opera- tors and as more and more midsize and large-cabin business jets travel internationally, they need satellite services,” Wanick said. “We see satel- lite and ATG systems as being comple- mentary. Satellite services can keep those movies streaming while making the occasional overseas trip. And ATG provides the low latency needed to move data to, and importantly, from the aircraft. That’s a key functionality for today’s cloud-based office applica- tions and video conference calls.”
The Tech Behind the Network
Wanick explained that from SmartSky Networks’ multi-patented LRUs, antennas, and terrestrial R/T network to its software-defined op- erational architecture, the company’s entire offering had been created to provide “responsive, dependable, and secure connectivity” to more aircraft and deliver it at reasonable prices.
“We started in 2011 and have spent the past 11 years obtaining patents, creating the right components, and assembling the network that connects it all together,” he said. “With our
nationwide network now live, we are seeing great results. We recently did some demonstration f lights in Wich- ita, and the passengers were amazed by what SmartSky can deliver.”
Wanick explained that one of SmartSky Networks’ differentiators is its unique use of the untapped spec- trum band in the “unlicensed” 2.4 gigahertz range.
“This gives us 20-times more oper- ating spectrum to use for connectivity than the legacy ATG provider,” he said. “We’ve also been very innovative in our use of the 4G and 5G technolo- gies to optimize overall performance and deliver a consistently high expe- rience.”
“Most people don’t realize it, but getting high-speed data off the airplane is a big part of delivering the right experience,” Wanick continued. “That’s how you get the responsive- ness that users require when you have multiple people with multiple devices streaming multiple gigabytes on and off the aircraft.”
He also described SmartSky Net- works’ technology that provides a dedicated bi-directional beam to each aircraft. This patented “beamforming” technology means data is not jumbled in with anyone else who happens to be on the network at that second.
“Because the beam is dedicated to that one aircraft’s connection, you get faster speeds, lower latency, and great- er security,” he said. “That’s key to
SmartSky being able to deliver unique in-f light benefits like our SmoothSky turbulence awareness capability.”
As Wanick explained, SmoothSky compiles real-time turbulence infor- mation from IATA’s Global Turbu- lence Aware Platform and delivers it to a web app on your WiFi-connected iPad or EFB.
Size and Installation
As mentioned earlier, one of the significant drawbacks to satellite sys- tems is their physical size and weight. Even if an owner of any number of turboprops or mid-sized cabin jets wanted one, there just isn’t room on or in the airplane to mount all the hardware. SmartSky Networks’ air- to-ground solution fits most six-place, cabin-class aircraft.
“We have installed our flagship system on our King Air B200 and in our Citation,” Wanick said. “From the beginning, we wanted to make sure the equipment was easy to install as possible. So, during the development of our LRUs and antennas, we worked closely with leading MROs and air- craft OEMs to get the key insights we needed.”
“The compact LRUs can be installed in unpressurized bays, so they don’t take up valuable space in the cabin. The dual antennas are mounted on the bottom of the fuselage, and their location is optimized for each aircraft type,” Wanick added. “And at only 40 pounds, the complete system is a fraction the weight of a satellite in- stallation.”
Bringing the Cost Down to Earth
We’ve covered many of the benefits of in-flight connectivity but not the cost. It was the number one reason why Twin & Turbine readers don’t have it.
Well, there’s no getting around the fact that high-quality, low-latency con- nectivity is not inexpensive. Unlike your personal wireless bill, you’re not paying for one device; you’re paying to connect multiple devices onto and off the aircraft.
“On a midsize cabin aircraft, you have six premium passengers
PHOTO COURTESY OF MACH POINT ONE AVIATION
October 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 15