EMS Aviation has completed installation of an advanced, managed voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service with a Middle Eastern head-of-state Airbus A320 aircraft.
The EMS Technologies division says it teamed with Paris-based Eclipse, an Inmarsat service provider and avionics dealer, to implement this secure end-to-end voice solution, which is the first of its kind on an A320 aircraft.
The managed VoIP service takes advantage of EMS Aviation's so-called eNfusion avionics suite to access and dynamically manage various quality-of-service streaming IP data sessions via Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband aeronautical service.
"This feature allows the system to more efficiently offer passengers multiple simultaneous VoIP telephony calls, which can help reduce costs. As a managed end-to-end service it also offers the highest possible level of telephony security," says EMS, which announced the installation at the recent Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg.
Eclipse CEO Marc Pinault says the firm developed this application of VoIP in 2009. "The operator's feedback on the system has been very positive. As a result, cabin voice on this aircraft is exclusively VoIP using SwiftBroadband. Our hardware and backbone software, coupled with EMS Aviation's CCU-200 networking device and HSD-440 high-speed data transceiver, are what make the system unique," he says.
The system leverages both EMS Aviation and Eclipse technology in the ground infrastructure on Vizada's Ground Earth Station network backbone located in France.
"This is an important milestone for EMS Aviation," says EMS Aviaiton general manager Nim Evatt. "We have been looking for new ways to offer users the best of SwiftBroadband. Our networking technology continues to push the envelope by offering this latest innovation in airborne telephony services."
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
