An overview of aeronautical telecommunications in Europe and world-wide

Abstract

Since the days of Alexander Graham Bell, telecommunications systems have grown in complexity and are reaching the point where calls can be made and received almost anywhere. One of the last peaceful havens away from the telephone has been the airline seat. In recent years this has been under attack from the engineers and marketeers responsible for the development and deployment of aeronautical telecommunications systems. This paper provides an overview of two key aeronautical telecommunications technologies in which BT holds an interest - Skyphone and Terrestrial Flight Telecommunications System (TFTS). The former predates the latter and uses geostationary satellite technology to provide global communications (primarily) to long-haul aircraft, while the latter employs ground-based cellular technology to provide a lower cost service in limited geographical areas (primarily) to short and medium haul aircraft. (The Skyphone system offers calls at $10 per minute whilst TFTS is currently priced at around half this rate.) The paper also briefly covers the commercial usage of the two systems to date including deployment on aircraft and services utilised by passengers. The paper ends by looking to the future of the two systems by examining future service developments and the use to which these services may be put.