TriaGnoSys and Miltope will provide the software and the server for the OnAir onboard GSM solution which will allow the safe and effective use of mobile phones on aircraft for the first time.
“The contribution of these companies will be crucial in realising OnAir’s business objective of making mobile phone use a reality on short- and long-haul flights for both Boeing and Airbus aircraft,” said OnAir CEO, George Cooper.
Munich-based TriaGnoSys will deliver the key software that will run on the airborne network server, a vital part of the onboard GSM system; the server will be provided by the Miltope Corporation, headquartered in Alabama.
Both companies have been selected by Airbus, which will integrate and certify the onboard solution for the OnAir mobile telephony offer. With the recent selection of Siemens as the pico cell manufacturer, all suppliers for the onboard GSM system are now identified and fully engaged with Airbus.
A pre-production version of the server with the TriaGnoSys software is expected by end 2005. Within the first half of 2006 a commercial version of the onboard GSM system will be ready for integration and end-to-end testing with the OnAir ground infrastructure.
Dr. Axel Jahn, Managing Director of TriaGnoSys, said, “We bring world-beating expertise to OnAir and Airbus because of our experience leading the EU Wireless Cabin project. Our GSM software on the aircraft will allow fully automatic control of all GSM services, including voice, data and SMS according to flight phases.”
Steven Rines, Miltope’s Director of European Business Development, said, “Our server has the necessary aircraft interfaces to work on any aircraft type, and provides the platform for accessing the Siemens GSM cell and Miltope’s wireless LAN products. With the Miltope server, the OnAir system has enough capacity to allow web surfing, text messaging and phone calls by up to 200 users simultaneously.”
Miltope’s network server is housed in a standard aviation 4-MCU case (about the size of a large toaster) and provides all the processing and storage for the OnAir system.  The state-of-the-art device is fitted with an Intel Dothan Pentium processor and complies with the ARINC 763S3 industry standard.
OnAir CEO, George Cooper, said, “We are very pleased to welcome these two companies into the OnAir team. Their knowledge and engineering skills make them the best in the world at what they do and the OnAir project will benefit enormously from their very active participation in making our vision a reality.”
The full OnAir service portfolio will allow airline passengers to use their personal devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs and laptops, to communicate in a variety of ways during flights: to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, read and send e-mails, access corporate networks, browse the Internet or chat over the Internet.
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