Inmarsat to appoint
Rockwell Collins as
first global partner to
deliver next generation
aviation safety services
October 2016
Inmarsat and Rockwell
Collins have announced
plans to expand their
strategic relationship
to include the new
SwiftBroadband-Safety
service for cockpit and
aircraft operations.
Rockwell Collins is a
long-time provider of
Inmarsat’s Classic Aero
safety service as part
of its information
management solutions
portfolio. Under a
Letter of Intent (LoI)
signed this week, it is
now set to provide
Inmarsat’s
next-generation
SwiftBroadband-Safety
service to both existing
and new customers from
across the aviation
industry.
The agreement outlines
the companies’ mutual
interest and plans to
work with airlines to
develop and introduce a
smooth and cost
effective migration path
from traditional flight
deck connectivity
solutions to new, higher
bandwidth secure IP
connections available
through
SwiftBroadband-Safety
services.
SwiftBroadband-Safety
represents a paradigm
shift in the advancement
of aviation safety
services. It utilises
secure internet protocol
(IP) based broadband
connectivity that
exceeds the capabilities
of other IP alternatives
currently available in
the market. The ‘always
on and always secure’
solution enables a range
of breakthrough aviation
applications, including
flight data streaming
(‘Black Box in the
Cloud’) and real-time
Electronic Flight Bag
applications, such as
networked graphical
weather.
It also enables air
traffic management
modernisation programmes
throughout the world and
fulfils the requirements
of the International
Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO)’s
Global Aeronautical
Distress Safety System
(GADSS), including
global flight tracking,
by offering reliable and
secure satellite
surveillance and
communications
(FANS/ACARS).
Frederik van Essen,
Inmarsat Aviation’s
Senior Vice President of
Strategy and Business
Development, said:
“Satellite
communications has
driven a significant
expansion of air traffic
over the world’s oceans,
promoting global
economic growth and
expansion. Now,
SwiftBroadband-Safety
brings secure IP to the
cockpit and its host of
unparalleled
capabilities for the
aviation industry will
drive even more
expansion through
greater efficiency,
reliability and capacity
at a lower cost per bit
for the information
exchanged.
“We are delighted to
extend our successful
relationship with
Rockwell Collins to
include this
transformative new
generation of aviation
safety services.
Rockwell Collins has the
global market strength
and capability to
deliver these benefits
to the aviation
industry. Our confidence
is further reinforced by
Inmarsat’s current
evaluation of
SwiftBroadband-Safety
with Hawaiian Airlines,
which is being conducted
with Rockwell Collins
and continues to be
extremely successful.”
Michael DiGeorge,
Rockwell Collins Vice
President of Commercial
Aviation and Network
Services, said: “The
aviation community
depends on safe, secure
and affordable flight
deck connectivity for
critical operations that
are vital to their
business. The move to
this advanced technology
platform ushers in a new
era of information and
connectivity solutions
for the global aviation
industry. We anticipate
strong demand from our
existing and new ARINC
GLOBALinkTM customers
for
SwiftBroadband-Safety
services.”
The agreement will
provide attractive
incentives for upgrading
to
SwiftBroadband-Safety,
together with price
assurances for Inmarsat
Classic Aero customers
served by Rockwell
Collins. New enterprise
agreement options and
shared corporate
allowance packages are
envisioned to offer
additional new benefits,
including simplified
pricing models,
increased flexibility,
predictability and
highly-competitive
packaged data and
services.
SwiftBroadband-Safety
hardware is currently
available for initial
retrofit installation on
existing aircraft and
will become a standard
option on new aircraft
deliveries starting in
2018. This capability
builds on Inmarsat’s
reputation as a provider
of high-quality voice
and data services to 95%
of the world’s
transoceanic aircraft
fleet and Rockwell
Collins’ high
reliability, secure
ARINC Global Network.
