Certus is A Multi-Service Communications Platform That Could Support Airlines, GA Alike

Iridium is looking hard at the opportunities in aviation for its Certus communications platform, which the company says could wind up in the cockpits of airliners as well as GA airplanes and helicopters.

Certus is a multi-service communications platform designed by Iridium that is designed to deliver broadband communications to meet user needs as a standalone option or alongside VSAT solutions. Once fully deployed, Iridium Certus will eventually deliver speeds up to 1.4 megabits per second over L-band spectrum, according to a company news release.

Aviation Today reports that, during an earnings conference call, Iridium CEO Matt Desch said that new cockpit terminals being introduced by such companies as Thales, which unveiled its FlyLink connected cockpit at NBAA last year, will help make inroads into the aviation market. "We kind of focus a bit more on the cockpit and operational services for airlines as opposed to the cabin. Certus will change that slightly, but still I think it is going to be primarily focused on the cockpit,” Desch said.

Desch said that speeds will become progressively faster as new software and satellites become available for Certus. Speeds should reach 1.4 mbp when the network is fully operational.

The higher speed connections will be made available to airlines, while GA fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft will be able to install terminals that will operated at lower speeds.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original Article