As Iridium Communications works with key partners to secure clearance from the US FAA to support safety services with its next-gen Certus safety satcom, the L-band Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operator is fielding strong interest from OEMs for solutions that will utilize its Certus 200 pipe.

With speeds of up to 176 Kbps, Certus 200 satcom solutions are lightweight, easy to install, and presently under linefit consideration by Airbus and Boeing to support safety services, including FANS-1/A, the Future Air Navigation System products that facilitate communication between pilots and air traffic control when aircraft are flying over oceans.

But an even lighter Certus safety option, based on Iridium’s lower-bandwidth Certus 100 service, is on the cusp of being introduced in civil aviation, with the aim of inspiring airlines to bring commonalty to their fleets — and crucially, polar coverage — with a simple and cost-effective retrofit.

Iridium Certus 100-powered services are already supporting real-time credit card authentication and inflight social messaging on some airlines. But last year, Iridium’s low gain antenna reached an important milestone when it was deemed by the FAA to be compliant with the RTCA’s DO-262 MOPS (minimum operational performance standards).

“It made it through. So, the low gain antenna is a new satcom category for the MOPS for safety. And so, we will have our first Certus 100 safety [solution] coming out at the end of this year, along with all the others,” Iridium executive director of aviation John Peterson said in reference to the firm’s Certus AvSafety-branded portfolio of aero safety products.

That means that airlines and bizjet operators can exploit Certus 100, with speeds of up to 88 Kbps, for safety services. Importantly, when the solution arrives, it is going to be “a step function less expensive than other terminals because it’s a much smaller size, weight, power, and cost; much smaller SWaP-C,” Peterson told RGN at the SATShow conference and exhibition in Washington D.C., adding:

Iridium’s legacy, safety-certified short burst data service for aviation currently competes with Viasat’s (formerly Inmarsat’s) cockpit communications and safety services, including Classic Aero and SwiftBroadband-Safety (SBS), which are powered by L-band GEO satellites, including an aging I-4 satellite constellation and a newer I-6 satellite. The Certus AvSafety line will, however, be a much more direct competitor to these products.

Though it has an upgrade path for its L-band satellite services, Viasat has faced some well reported challenges in the fleet. And indeed, Iridium CEO Matthew Desch sees his competitor’s L-band broadband services as “in decline.”

“And the good news is it’s kind of creating capacity for us. Because the most efficient user of our network is IoT and PNT services and things like safety services whether it be aviation or maritime,” Desch said on Iridium’s recent earnings conference call.

Without referencing Viasat, Peterson told RGN at SATShow: “Those of us who are in this business, we know we can do a pretty good job of getting our satellites to last about 20 years. Somewhere between 16 and 21, some do better than others. And so, if you take a look and say, ‘well, what sort of satellites are out there that are about 20 years old?’ You know, it’s a pretty well-defined list.”

“And so you take a look at that and you say, ‘well, if that’s how it is, I wonder how it’s performing.’ And so that’s why we’re excited that our network is only five years old. And so we got lots of roadmap ahead of us on our network. You know we’re already planning the one after that.”

Peterson sees a clear opportunity for Iridium to differentiate, not only in terms of SWaP-C, but also given that its L-band LEO network is global including over the poles. “The Arctic is becoming a very tenuous place to fly,” he noted, and certain satellite operators “don’t work for a while” on polar routes.

Moreover, he said, there’s an “opportunity for airlines to be able to think differently about the availability of their cockpit data connection and how much it costs them to get the data off the aircraft and what can be done with it. I mean, just look what Airbus and Skywise are doing with SBS. And now every airline in the world will be able to do that on every flight everywhere with us. It’s a fraction of the cost that anyone else is [doing for] hardware, a fraction of the size, and works over the poles.”

The Iridium executive anticipates that an Airbus A320 will participate in the Certus AvSafety trials, which are a prerequisite to receiving the FAA’s blessing for supporting FANS-1/A. “We are hoping so,” he told RGN at SATShow.”We’ve got an airline that has requested it. We’re working with Airbus for permission for an STC.”

The recent partial U.S. government shutdown, followed by the Iran war have admittedly created a couple of setbacks. One of the Boeing jets earmarked for the trial was temporarily stuck in Bahrain. But given the deep involvement of Iridium’s partners, and airlines’ interest in driving as much data from the Certus pipe as possible in flight, Peterson reckons it’s possible they’ll have enough data by the end of the year for the FAA to make its decision.

Collins Aerospace, Honeywell Aerospace and SKYTRAC are key value-added manufacturer (VAM) partners to Iridium in civil aviation; they’re building the necessary satcom boxes. But so too is Guardian Mobility, Peterson said. “They do Certus 100 in the rotary-wing market. And there’ll be a lot more to talk about there as well.”

He enthused, “We are going to do something that I think is going to change buying behavior in the air transport world forever. And I am excited. I’m so excited on a number of levels.”

Related Articles:

• Iridium plans aviation disruption with Certus safety, space-based VHF

• Airbus rejigs services contract on strength of digital and connectivity

• Iridium VAMs explore integrating PNT service with avionics

The post Iridium prepares to unleash Certus 100 safety for civil aviation appeared first on Runway Girl.