ARINC, Telenor Unveil New AeroMobile Brand For In-Cabin Mobile Cellular Service
Annapolis, MD and Oslo, Norway - Building on continued successful development of their in-flight mobile phone solution, ARINC Incorporated and Telenor today jointly unveiled AeroMobile, the service that will soon make cellular calling a reality for passenger airlines.
The two companies are working closely with several potential airline customers and are readying demonstration flights with AeroMobile service in mid-2005.
"We are bringing to market a fully-defined mobile service ahead of any competitor," stated Bernt Fanghol, Vice President, Mobile Connectivity, Telenor New Business. "AeroMobile has the advantage in capturing the earliest opportunities for passenger mobile services in flight due to our developed terrestrial infrastructure, established international roaming agreements, and thoroughly tested onboard satellite communications systems. AeroMobile will deliver proven and reliable cellular calling, initially for passengers on long-haul flights, and later for users on regional flights and business aviation aircraft."
"AeroMobile is targeting the earliest introduction of in-flight mobile calling," stated David Coiley, ARINC director for Aircraft Mobile Connectivity. "We were also first with a firm commitment from our technical partners, and first with a fully-defined product offering. Our public ground demonstrations in 2004 were highly successful and extremely well-received by the world's airlines. Pending regulatory and certification approvals, we anticipate AeroMobile services to be available for airline passengers by Q4 of 2005."
The AeroMobile system was recently deployed for aviation writers and airline executives who took a ‘virtual flight' from the comfort of Inmarsat's London headquarters. The AeroMobile service was delivered via a standard Inmarsat satellite connection, authentically simulating actual passenger mobile calls and SMS at 30,000 feet. Guests placed and received calls on their own personal mobile cell phones to test the service.
"Uniquely, our AeroMobile inflight solution makes use of the existing Inmarsat avionics found on virtually all long-haul passenger aircraft," continued Coiley. "AeroMobile will rapidly evolve to include data services and other enhancements as future Inmarsat Swift64 and SwiftBroadband services are deployed."
Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Telenor is an international provider of high quality telecommunications, data and media communication services. Telenor is one of Norway's largest companies with 2004 revenues of approx NOK 61.3 billion (approximately US$ 9.1billion) and a workforce of 20,900 located in Norway and abroad. Telenor is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (TEL) and NASDAQ in New York (TELN). For more information, visit the Telenor web site at www.telenor.com.
ARINC Incorporated is the world leader in transportation communications and systems engineering. The company develops and operates communications and information processing systems and provides systems engineering and integration solutions to five key industries: airports, aviation, defense, government, and surface transportation. Founded to provide reliable and efficient radio communications for the airlines, ARINC is headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, and operates key regional offices in London and Singapore, with over 3,000 employees worldwide. ARINC is ISO 9001:2000 Certified. For more information, visit the ARINC web site at www.arinc.com.
Source: ARINC Incorporated and Telenor