Editor’s Note: A recent VT Miltope news release caught our eye and we wanted to set up this story for our readers with a bit of Cognitive Hot Spot background information, but then we saw this Innovation announcement in an Inflight’s e-message: “Inflight is pleased to award VT Miltope as the winner of the ‘Innovation in commercial airline cabins’ category,” said Mark Howells. “The company is a worthy winner with the development of its Cognitive Hotspot Technology which aims to provide airlines with a solution in facing the challenges of seamless connectivity in-flight.” It sort of says it all from a bottom line perspective!

However, to get a better idea of the company’s technology and its benefits, let’s start with their latest nMAP2 announcement. “VT Miltope has started delivering an IEEE 802.11ac Multifunction Access Point (nMAP2) as its latest wireless product. Building upon the success of VT Miltope’s wireless access point products, nMAP2 features Cognitive Hotspot Technology (CHT), an integrated MIMO antenna assembly and a second radio to support legacy 802.11n client devices.”

Because of the advances that nMAP2 with CHT offers over other wireless access points (AP), we wanted to point out it in this pre-AIX issue so our readers check it out at the EXPO. Further, we wanted to relate what it is and what it does, as well as, how airlines and airline passengers will benefit from CHT. VT Miltope has the only wireless access point with this feature and, according to Mr. Guidetti, “We are very proud of our accomplishment and what it will do for cabin connectivity performance – it’s the latest advancement in wireless!”

There is a lot more in the above sentences than meets the eye… let’s look at a couple the concepts, one at a time:

nMAP2

VT Miltope’s newest Aircraft Wireless Router with CHT built-in.

802.11n

VT Miltope expects passengers to be bringing legacy 802.11g & n passenger devices onto airplanes for many years.  This will be similar to today, with passengers bringing 802.11g devices even though 802.11n has been available for 5+ years.  Given the added complexity and higher power requirements of 802.11ac, it may be that some passenger devices never migrate to 802.11ac. That’s why they have a second radio to support 802.11a/g/n.

802.11ac

The other radio in the access point operates in the 5 GHz band and will deliver data rates in the gigabit range. The good news about that is that there’s far more room in that frequency spread than there is in the over-used 2.4 GHz.

Benefits: The most significant improvements are more data spatial streams, 80MHz channel width operation, and data aggregation scheme that should increase data efficiency.

At the raw bit level, 802.11ac will support data rates of at least 1 Gbps on three streams using a combination of wider bandwidth channels and high-density modulation. Where 802.11n could run on 20 MHz or 40 MHz channels, 802.11ac can be deployed on 20-, 40-, and 80-MHz channels. Bigger channels translate into more potential bits per second. To pack more bits into the available radio spectrum, 802.11ac also uses a coding system that delivers up to 33% more efficiency.

Benefits: It is here today; faster, more efficient data, and more channels will also benefit the users. This means a network can support simultaneously streaming multiple HD-quality videos to multiple devices. And, we understand, VT Miltope has begun delivering this new product.

GigaBit Ethernet

nMAP2 has a built in Ethernet switch providing multiple Gigabit Ethernet ports to connect to the IFEC network server and for daisy chaining other nMAP2s to minimize cable installation to reduce weight and costs. VT Miltope completed nMAP2 qualification testing with all three Ethernet ports running during qualification testing.

Benefits: The improved 802.11ac data rates necessitate faster Ethernet capabilities with the wireless access point otherwise the wired interface becomes the bottleneck. nMAP2 has three Gigabit Ethernet ports, one for connecting to the IFEC network server, one to daisy chain to another nMAP2, and a third for connecting other IFEC systems or equipment such as Satcom. nMAP2’s preserve the Ethernet connection to the network and other nMAP2’s in the event there is a daisy chained nMAP2 failure because the Ethernet switch remains operational. Furthermore, to add redundancy the last nMAP2 may be looped back into the network so the last nMAP2 in the chain remains connected to the network even if an nMAP2 in the middle of the daisy chain fails. In the unlikely event that an nMAP2 wireless connection is interrupted; CHT senses the wireless interruption and reconnects those clients to the other operational nMAP2 or from a non-operational nMAP2 radio to the second radio. This improves the overall availability of the wireless network on the aircraft to meet the performance expectations of the passengers and crew. This is a reliability game-changer.

MIMO

Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output, or MIMO is the use of multiple antennas on both the transmitter and receiver to improve connectivity performance. Multiple antennas are used to perform smart antenna functions such as distributing the total transmit power over the antennas to achieve an array gain that improves the spectral efficiency (more bits per second per hertz of bandwidth), beam directivity and/or achieving a diverse gain that reduces fading and improves link reliability.

Benefits: Basically this is an antenna designed for aircraft cabin environments to improve connectivity performance at each seat with more seats served resulting in more happy users onboard!

Now, back to the news release:

“Cognitive Hotspot Technology (CHT), available exclusively with nMAP2, is state-of-the-art wireless management technology tailored specifically to improve wireless performance in congested aircraft cabins… With CHT, nMAP2’s provide proactive cabin network management to optimize the total network capacity, thus supporting a substantially better passenger experience. CHT features various dynamically and automatically adapting modules such as intelligent roaming, wireless power control, channel assignment, load balancing, and interference minimization. These modules are customized according to each airline’s service and content delivery requirements and priorities.”

Cognitive Hotspot Technology

CHT is software embedded on VT Miltope Wireless Access Point that converts them into Smart Access Points. Smart APs are collaborative. They talk to one another and act together as a team to optimize the network capacity. Smart APs take their environment into account, continuously sensing it to adapt in real-time and deliver the best signal for each receiver (PED). Information is shared among the Smart APs to create aircraft network awareness and manage the available resources jointly. CHT helps to prevent interferences and network congestion, sets measures to guarantee network-wide Quality of Signal (QoS), enables seamless roaming and balanced networks, and improves overall network capacity. In other words, CHT delivers the best signal to each user, in each seat.

Benefit: The benefit is to your passengers. The Wi-Fi signal they receive on their personal electronic devices is higher in signal strength and faster in data rate. This means a more consistent wireless signal for better audio, better video, and a much better user experience.

Access Controller

Access Controller mode adds DHCP server capabilities with routing, traffic control, and prioritization for different user VLANS or traffic to nMAP2 operation.

Benefit: Basically, access controller is a mode of operation that allows for the creation of a wireless local area network on the aircraft. An nMAP2 operating as an access controller in conjunction with other nMAP2s operating as access points establish the wireless local network and provides intelligent data forwarding to maintain the security of the network. Access controller can take advantage of an external RADIUS server to store user accounts that can be locally defined. The access controller establishes links with the access points wirelessly.

And finally here is the ‘plane’ benefit to your airline and your passengers, also from the news release:

“Pioneering the introduction of wireless access point technology to aircraft cabins since 2001, VT Miltope has a proven history for delivering highly reliable wireless products. Improving on our current nMAP, nMAP2 incorporates the latest in wireless security, is more compact, weighs less further enhances reliability, and reduces overall ship set costs.”

The company continues to bring about innovation in their product line… that is what this business is all about. For example, the nMAP2 weighs less, is more compact, and improves reliability more than earlier products. Up to 64 VLANs (IEEE 802.1q) are available to support separate user networks.  Customized network and user group profiles are possible using 16 concurrent VSC (Virtual Service Community), each having configurable SSIDs, QoS, security, and filtering.”

In closing, we want to let you know that there will be more VT Miltope news coming during and after AIX, Mr. Guidetti told IFExpress, and the best advice we have for our readers is to Stay Tuned!

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Astronics AES, known for bringing power to passengers and airline personnel,  announced its agreement with SmartTray International, LLC.  Astronics AES will exclusively market, sell and manufacture SmartTray’s new passenger device-friendly aircraft tray table solutions that facilitate hands-free use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) and smartphones for an improved passenger experience. This is a brilliant product diversification. Stay Tuned for what’s next! (Editor’s Note: Check out their website here TheSmartTray.com  for an idea of how this simple and useful product works!)

While preparing for our yearly sojourn to AIX in Hamburg, we began to think of what would be needed on the trip in the way of new apps for our portable devices that would be relevant and make the experience a bit easier. Let’s see, an app at the airports(s), an app or two in the plane for communication and possibly sleeping or game-play diversion and of course an app about Hamburg. We won’t go into the options here but this got us thinking as good little App Pupils: How big is this app ‘thing’ and why on earth are we thinking about device apps when an exciting trip is in the offing?

Rule Number One: If an app will get you through an airport and on or off an aircraft quicker or easier, it is probably a good idea. Further, and in general, if apps make the flight experience better we will try them. That may seem strange because we spend so much money and time on flying, but the flying experience is not really enjoyable anymore… at least not in economy! Perhaps we are willing to download and use device apps that have the potential to improve it… or at least, provide a diversion that keeps us from thinking about the “experience” while we are enduring it. At this juncture, we can’t help but think about dentistry’s Novocaine, but we digress. One can only guess that if the experience were better we would want it to last longer and would not look for apps to mask or improve the event.

Which brings us to the demand and usage of mobile connectivity. We read recently that “13 million passengers used Mobile OnAir last year – 65% used if for mobile data, which includes email, social media updates and surfing the Internet, 31% used it for text messaging, and 21% used it for phone calls, which includes listening to voicemail,“ we were told by a SITA/ONAir spokesperson, Charlie Pryor. He went on, “Basically, think of how people use their phones normally; with smartphones, the calling element is just another app. And people use their phones in the same way on a plane as they do on the ground.” Next, Mr. Pryor went on; “There are two OnAir products that provide passenger communication. Mobile OnAir is a mobile phone network. It works in exactly the same way as international roaming: you turn on your phone and start using it. The cost is included in your regular bill, as with roaming. So no, you don’t need any specific subscription – provided of course you have roaming enabled. You can use your phone for whatever you want – emails, social media, text messages, calls, reading the newspaper: the list is endless. Internet OnAir is Wi-Fi and to use that, you need to sign-up and pay with your credit card, just like any hotspot. Mostly: there is a growing trend for airlines to provide it free of charge. Again, you can use it for whatever you normally do on the Internet.”

Obviously, apps are well used and to prove a point, airline connectivity apps, developed in this case with SITA, are a big deal, and getting bigger. The company noted; “SITA OnAir is celebrating another successful year with 13 million people taking advantage of Mobile OnAir in 2014. The inflight mobile phone service, Mobile OnAir is now flying on 15 airlines worldwide. Over the year, 37% of passengers flying OnAir-equipped aircraft connected to the inflight network.” They went on; “The demand for mobile connectivity has never been higher, with 80% of passengers carrying smartphones. In 2014, mobile data was the most popular service, used by 65% of the passengers who connected to OnAir’s onboard mobile network; mobile data includes email, social media updates and surfing the Internet. Text messaging accounted for 31% of usage and phone calls made up 21%. Many passengers use Mobile OnAir for all three activities, as people do on the ground. Over the coming years, mobile data usage will continue to grow, driven by smartphone penetration. Voice also remains an important service, especially for business passengers.”

The issue of flight connectivity brings us to one point we noticed while reading about apps and their use on personal devices – flying is becoming a “personal experience,” at least in the world of airline and airports – here is one document passage, again developed by the folks at SITA: “The ‘connected passenger’ has become a reality, with 97% of airline passengers carrying at least one personal electronic device. But global usage rates indicate passengers have been slow to adopt new airline and airport mobile services when traveling. Deeper analysis however, shows that some industry players are bucking the trend and achieving high levels of usage. This is according to The Future is Personal, the latest industry report from SITA, the leading global IT provider to the air transport industry. It combines SITA’s global research with commentary and cases studies from airports and airlines that have focused particularly on using mobile services to improve the passenger experience to great success. SITA’s industry insights are based on in-depth research directly with more than 6,000 passengers; carried out at 106 airports across the world that handled 2.35 billion passengers last year and with airlines that together carried more than half the world’s passenger traffic. The research shows airlines have made significant investments in mobile services over the past four years as smartphone adoption surged and the majority now enable passengers to buy tickets, check-in and access flight information via smartphone apps. Meanwhile half of the worlds’ airports also provide flight information via apps.”

Yes, apps are useful, but are they being used? SITA says; “Still global roll-out and adoption is proving to be slower and more complex than was anticipated. Half of passengers are keen to use their mobiles to find their way around the airport, access lounges or the aircraft, provide identification at checkpoints, or make payments. The reality is though, that despite these and other services, including mobile check-in and boarding passes provided by airlines, 24% of passengers have not yet used travel apps at all on their journey.”

With the greater use of apps, we wondered a bit more about who develops them. In our discussions, Mr. Pryor noted: “Apps are typically developed by airlines and airports; SITA provides developers with access to the relevant API data, through www.developer.aero.” He noted further that he had some interesting data on an airport app from Cork airport (Ireland) that we wanted to know a bit more about so he connected IFExpress with Kevin Cullinane and he answered the following airport app questions about which he had some interesting data on Cork Airport, Ireland:


Q. How many downloads of the Cork airport app to-date – Android… iOS?
A. There have been close to 10,000 downloads since its launch and the Cork Airport App currently has a 4* rating in the Google play store. It is also rated in iOS – the App is up to 29th place in the free iOS Apps in the Travel category in the Irish iTunes market. Nearly half the users are using iPhones to access the site.

Q. Why do passengers use it?
A. It is the essential guide to the full range of services at the Airport. It includes features such as live arrivals and departures information, car park booking, integrated maps and details of all of the retail and catering outlets within the terminal. The app also includes links to airport shopping services with all the latest offers from The Loop. It provides current weather details at Cork Airport, as well as live weather reports for all destinations. Cork Airport has also added bus and coach departure timetables to the App. The update makes it even easier for passengers to plan their journey to and from the airport.

Q. The App is called?
A. CORK Airport (Official) available to download for free on both iTunes and Google Play

Q. Why should travelers download the app?
A. The free Cork Airport app is the essential guide to the full range of services available at the airport. In addition to the new flight-tracking feature launched in January, the app features live bus and coach departure times, live arrivals and departures information, car park booking, integrated maps and details of all of the retail and catering outlets within the terminal. The app also includes links to airport shopping services with all the latest offers from The Loop. It provides current weather details at Cork Airport, as well as live weather reports for all destinations.

Finally we note, this business about apps and inflight connectivity got us thinking: Who is in the game? Noting that in the US, the government prohibits voice calls, we found an interesting study done at Stanford focusing on Gogo but talking about the worldwide competition, and, the study is worth a read. Here is what they say about inflight connectivity competition:

“Indeed, the main competitors on the market are OnAir, VIA SAT and Aeromobile. OnAir, a fully owned subsidiary of SITA, originally incorporated as a joint venture with Airbus is based in Switzerland and has operations internationally. OnAir is focused either on airlines but also on cruise ship since 2005. In 2014, they had equipped 22 airlines. They are offering to flyers an Internet connection of 56 Kbit/s and provide OnAir services with an integrated GSM. Recently they have equipped the innovative plane Solar Impulse.

Via Sat is an American company making 1 Billion Sales. They are specialized in global satellite services for government, commercial aircraft and cruises.

Aeromobile, part of Panasonic, is based in UK, since 2010 and generates 2 Million USD of revenues. Their technology is based on a component of Panasonic’s Global Communications services.

Honeywell Aerospace, the largest manufacturer of aircraft engines and avionics is based in the US, generating 31 Billion USD Revenue is acting in many segments of aviation. On a bigger scale, they have the objective to lead the market in a near future with an innovative Wi-Fi Satellite connection.”

In conclusion, we are encouraged to note that Brazil is the leader in travel app usage (probably because of the dreadful telephone system), so noted a recent SITA release – “SAO PAULO – 5 March 2015 – More airline passengers in Brazil carry a smartphone than in other parts of the world. The SITA-ATW Passenger Survey reveals that 85% of passengers in Brazil carry smartphones compared to the global average of 81%. A significantly higher percentage of these passengers use apps from airlines, airports and travel agencies compared with passengers from Europe, Africa and the Middle East, making Brazil’s passengers among the most connected in the world.” The release went on to say: “When it comes to booking their flights, passengers in Brazil are also picking up their smartphones and tablets faster than their counterparts in other parts of the world. Some 43% of them regularly use their smartphone to book flights, this compares to the global average of 31%. In Brazil, 42% take advantage of the larger screen and regularly use tablets to book flights. This use of mobile technology is set to continue to rise – when asked which channels they would use more for tickets and services, if all equally available, 60% of passengers said smartphone apps and 53% tablets.”

Apps are here to stay and if the recent announcement of the Apple Watch has any influence and bearing on the situation, via GPS, one app on it will display your itinerary information when you near the airport. Make no mistake, wearable apps are next!

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This Just In: IFExpress received a copy of the VT Miltope Press Release of their new nMAP2 – IEEE802.11ac Multifunction Access Point, featuring Cognitive Hotspot Technology. The company states that is is in the process of delivering its latest wireless product. And yes, it will be their “main focus” at AIX. More later…

One of the new products you will see at APEX is a new, seat integrated solution from Lufthansa Systems. So we contacted LHS in order to provide our readers with a glimpse of it prior to APEX and we asked them the following series of questions:

Q: Firstly, what is it called?
LHS: It’s called the “Seat Integrated Tablet Solution”. It’s another feature for its integrated wireless BoardConnect platform.
Q: Are we correct in understanding that the system described in the release will be basically a wireless IFE solution with a tablet replacing the existing IFE seatback unit?
LHS: Yes, high-resolution audio and video content can now be streamed over WiFi not only to passenger devices but also to tablets integrated in the seat. The in-seat tablet solution integrates commercial of the shelf (COTS) hardware into the seat. Therefore, a seat needs to be modified to accommodate a common tablet.  A seat structure is added to firmly mount the tablet onto the seat frame. In addition a tablet frame/case surrounding the tablet itself holds it in place. The tablet frame adapts to the dimension of the tablets which will be adjusted in case of replacement. This “adaptive frame” is mounted to the seat structure and can easily snapped in or off.
Q: What about head-strike and about certifying the tablet to DO-160?
LHS: It is mandatory for every seat to pass HIC. The same requirement applicable to legacy in-seat IFE systems applies to a seat integrated tablet solution too. To avoid additional HIC tests when updating to the next tablet generation we add a transparent polycarbonate cover (or similar materials) that need to be closed for the critical flight phases Taxi, Take-off and Landing (TTL.) The cover closes like a shade that is pulled up by the passenger. An appropriate announcement could be made as part of the cabin ready check (seat in an upright position and stow the tray table.)
Q: We assume a personal tablet works with the system? Android, iOS Windows… is there an app in use here… what OS?
LHS: Yes and no, personal tablets can be used, just like in any other BoardConnect installation, however they are not to be mounted into the seat integrated tablet frame.
The tablets inside the frame are airline supplied devices, enabling the airline to feature safety videos as well as early window content. The key differentiator to classical in-seat screens is the possibility of a cost efficient technology refresh in case newer tablets become available.
Q: We hear that you folks are working with an Airframmer and possibly a seat manufacturer for the product — any truth to that?
LHS: The prototype on display in Anaheim was developed with partners, however at current we are not in a position to reveal their names.
Q: Are you working with a connectivity service provider who will deliver the speedy Internet?
LHS: BoardConnect was and remains to be as a very capable and robust, wireless on-board platform coming along with a cutting edge wireless IFE offering. In respect to connectivity BoardConnect remains provider agnostic. We can attach both satellite and Air-to-Ground solution to our platform.
Q: Could your “new” system be considered an embedded wireless IFE solution?
LHS: In fact it is a more than this since it allows any form of hybrid solutions containing Personal Electronics Devices (PEDs), Airline Owned Devices (AODs) and Seat Integrate Tablets (SIT) all served by a single server and a high performance wireless network.
Q: If what we think is true, LHS has a real technical achievement, especially with using only wireless to each seat as there are many roadblocks like interference to keep the system from working, would anyone from LHS wish to comment?
LHS: Norbert Müller, Senior Vice President BoardConnect at Lufthansa Systems:
“Nowadays, it becomes more and more apparent that legacy IFE systems can’t keep up to speed with the developments in the consumer electronics sphere. To overcome this gap between customer expectations driven by consumer electronics and the current reality within an aircraft cabin we specifically designed the seat integrated tablet solution. This will allow our customers to integrate state of the art, affordable, commercial off the shelf devices into the seatback leading to an improved customer experience.”

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Next, IFExpress got a sneak peek the the latest technology from VT Miltope, (via their new nMAP2 technology) and when you visit their booth at APEX, write this down – APEX Booth 1641 – you will be amazed! Why? Because for almost 6 months now, we have been told we can’t report on “Cognitive HotSpot Technology” but Stay Tuned. Take our word for it, this is a first in smart aircraft routers considering today’s access points can use only approximately 10% of their network capacity because of antenna technology, internal software analysis capability, and aircraft physical configuration … you will be amazed because now, routers from VT Miltope can collaborate!

Late Breaking Inside Info: Here is what we do know about nMAP2 – VT Miltope has added an IEEE 802.11ac Multifunction Access Point (nMAP2) as its latest wireless product. nMAP2 builds upon the success of VT Miltope’s wireless access point products and nMAP2 features Cognitive Hotspot Technology, an integrated MIMO antenna assembly and has a second radio to support legacy 802.11n client devices. Cognitive Hotspot Technology (CHT), available exclusively with nMAP2, is state-of-the-art wireless control technology tailored specifically to improve wireless performance in congested aircraft cabins. With CHT, nMAP2’s provide intelligent roaming, auto wireless power control, auto channel assignment, load balancing, interference mitigation, and failure recovery.

You probably know that as s a pioneer in introducing wireless access point technology to the aviation industry and VT Miltope has a proven history of delivering highly reliable access point products. Importantly, nMAP2 weighs less, is more compact, and improves reliability as far as we can tell. We do know that it is standards compliant, designed to ARINC 628a Part 1 and ARINC 836. Up to 64 VLANs (IEEE 802.1q) are available to support separate user networks.  Customized network and user group profiles are possible using 16 concurrent VSC’s (Virtual Service Community), each having configurable SSIDs, QoS, security, and filtering.

As an access point, clients connect to aircraft LAN via intelligent bridging that restricts client traffic to only flow to-and-from the access controller. In the absence of a router, nMAP2, we understand may also be configured as an access controller to provide router functionality with robust firewall. Incredible stuff, don’t miss it!

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IFExpress got a call from a company seeking to acquire or invest in companies serving the inflight entertainment industry and rather than spin their message, here it is, and please contact them directly if you are interested. “Our Company is developing a unique IFE system offering including; passenger entertainment, e-commerce and other unique passenger and airline benefits. Additionally, the Company has very significant backing that will allow for the “roll up” acquisition(s) and/or investment(s) in related companies offering synergies within the IFE industry. These synergies might include; existing airline distribution, existing airline accounts, existing or near term revenues and profits, unique software and/or hardware technology, unique passenger or airline services, and services that can generate passenger and airline revenues either in flight or on the ground. All inquiries will be responded to and should contain a brief description of the opportunity, which can be followed up with a Non Disclosure Agreement where necessary. Please address all inquiries to MJEL@mjel.com.”

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And lastly, do you want a great info-graphic on passenger Wi-Fi demand?