Seamless Air Alliance Defines System Needed to Measure Quality of IFC Service
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Seamless Air Alliance, which was founded by Airbus, Delta, OneWeb, Sprint and Airtel in 2018 to enable airlines to build agnostic in-flight connectivity (IFC) systems, has launched Seamless Release 3 (SR3), its third technical document.
SR3, Seamless Air Alliance’s latest publication, follows on from Seamless Release 1, the alliance’s first set of standards focusing on interchangeability and innovation, which was launched in February 2020; and Seamless Release 2, which was introduced in October 2020 and provides specific definitions for each network component within an IFC system to allow suppliers to design and deliver OpenIFC-compliant hardware to the airline industry.
It covers the measurement and management of the IFC experience by defining an automatic control system that compares Quality of Service (QoS), Quality of Experience (QoE) and user experience (UX) measures against an acceptable product performance level. Any difference between the two is used to adjust network resources to achieve the desired IFC experience with minimum resources in a closed-loop manner.
SR3 was developed with input from 46 industry participants. And in addition to creation of a new closed-loop transfer function, the group also defined 96 new IFC measures that advance the management and control of in-flight connectivity services.
The next Seamless Air Alliance meeting for members will take place on November 29 at APEX EXPO in Long Beach, California, where the group will also be demonstrating a secure and seamless connection to high-performance in-flight Wi-Fi and discussing how the IFC transfer function developed in SR3 improves passenger connectivity in the exhibition hall at Stand 713.
“We are at the cusp of a major transformation in relation to how in-flight connectivity services are going to be experienced and consumed by passengers,” explained Thomas Locke, CTO at GlobalReach Technology and chair of the Seamless Air Alliance Networking Group. “This release, along with the interoperability of OpenIFC, lays the foundation for IFC vendors and server providers alike to streamline both deployment and management of the next generation of IFC services.”
“We are blazing new trails to help airlines deliver the premium internet service that passengers have been craving,” added Jack Mandala, CEO at Seamless Air Alliance.