Airbus Boosts its High Bandwidth Connectivity Program with Zodiac Deal
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APEX Insight: The partnership with Airbus is a big win for Zodiac, a relatively new entrant into the connectivity market, and brings the supplier a step closer to being able to provide a full IFEC package.
Zodiac Inflight Innovations’ high-bandwidth connectivity technology has been chosen by Airbus to support its Airbus High Bandwidth Connectivity (HBC) solution as a buyer-furnished equipment supplier on its A320, A330 and A380 aircraft.
“High Bandwidth Connectivity represents the new generation of connectivity services for both passengers and airlines,” explains Matt Smith, CEO, Zodiac Inflight Innovations.
Zodiac will manage the integration of the system and will provide an ARINC-791 compatible radome, skirt seal, antenna and other terminal hardware, equipped to directly facilitate the Inmarsat Global Xpress service. Both the radome and adapter were designed to be flexible with other Ka-band antennae.
“The end result will be that airlines will be able to have different HBC options on multiple aircraft types, while providing a consistent service to both passengers and the airlines’ day-to-day operations,” says Larry Girard, executive vice-president, Zodiac Inflight Innovations.
Zodiac also hopes that the partnership will allow for a further expansion of their RAVE in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. “Not only is Zodiac Inflight Innovations a supplier selected to provide HBC equipment, but also our in-flight entertainment solutions are approved as line-fit on A330 Long Range and understudy on other aircraft types,” explains Girard. Zodiac’s RAVE IFE system is currently flying on over 140 aircraft and 25 airlines worldwide.
As of August, Airbus announced it is offering HBC connectivity as line-fit and retrofit, allowing aircraft to have Internet access, mobile telephony services and support applications on the aforementioned aircraft. The approach includes solutions that allow airlines to mix and match from four different suppliers: Panasonic, Thales, Airbus, Zodiac Inflight Innovations and three different communications technologies: L-Band/SBB, Ku-Band and Ka-Band.
For more news on connectivity, read our coverage from this year’s Global Connected Aircraft Summit.
This post was updated on August 19, 2015.