 |
| European Aviation Network testing at Nokia Stuttgart with onboard equipment. Photo: Nokia |
[Avionics Magazine 11-28-2016] The European Aviation Network (EAN) has reached a significant milestone today after Inmarsat, Deutsche Telekom and its technology partners Nokia and Thales successfully conducted a program of test flights in the United Kingdom.
The EAN is planned for introduction in the middle of next year. This program of test flights is seen as a major milestone in the development of EAN, an integrated satellite and air-to-ground network dedicated to providing a true in-flight broadband experience for the European aviation industry and for millions of passengers travelling across Europe.
As a precursor to the test flight series, Deutsche Telekom and Nokia jointly achieved the first EAN live over-the-air connection, in Nokia’s Stuttgart laboratory. There, all components of the LTE ground network were thoroughly tested and validated. The first live connection in the field was accomplished in a broadband video conference with both parties connected via the dedicated EAN LTE mobile network.
“The actual performance and quality of the in-flight datalink exceeds design expectations and is truly game changing for European airlines. We look forward to further successful testing milestones working with all the EAN partners to bring together this integrated system,” Leo Mondale, President of Aviation, Inmarsat said in a statement.