Arinc announced it has successfully tested a “true broadband communications receiver for aircraft” called SkyLink, which the company said provides Internet surfing capability aboard business jets at speeds unparalleled by competing offerings. The Annapolis, Md. company claims its system has the potential of receiving eight to 10 megabytes of data per second–a rate that is about 10 times faster than aviation products currently on the market, such as those that connect to the Web through Inmarsat’s Swift64 data service.
The Arinc system uses Ku-band satellite technology at ultrahigh frequencies, a technique that allows the receiver, built by ViaSat, to achieve “an order of magnitude higher performance” than current-generation services. Tests were conducted on flights from Wichita in a Cessna Citation X fitted with a tail-mounted dish antenna. This phase I evaluation validated the pointing accuracy of the antenna and demonstrated that high data rates are possible, according to a spokesman.
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