Secure, reliable, worldwide operations on the fly
SwiftBroadband allows simultaneous voice and IP data communications over low-profile antennas that are significantly smaller and lighter than any other systems on the market.
Our L-band SwiftBroadband solution is in use by government aeronautical customers, business jets and commercial airlines worldwide and has the highest number of installations of all our L-band services. More than 40 commercial airlines use SwiftBroadband - in fact, nine out of ten wide-bodied, trans-oceanic commercial aircraft have installed Viasat safety services.
SwiftBroadband Airborne users benefit from the following key, distinct qualities:
Users can experience uninterrupted, global coverage – no matter where in the world they are flying.
Thanks to our L-band network’s 99.9% reliability and rigorous testing on the part of our manufacturing partners, crews benefit from uninterrupted performance ‘push button’ satellite services for all voice, data and video communications in the air, enabling mission success anywhere and anytime.
Inmarsat has established a long-time trusted relationship with the global government sector and over 40 years of experience in delivering mission-critical mobile satellite communication services to users worldwide.
SwiftBroadband delvers secure, reliable services to highly flexible government airborne operations across the globe. An IP-based packet-switched service that provides an ‘always-on’ data connection through single or multichannel systems, it offers high quality voice services and a combination of always-on data and guaranteed connection rates. A single installation enables a wide range of uses in the cockpit and the cabin, from safety communications and weather and flight plan updates, to crew connectivity for email, Internet access, video, VoIP telephones, GSM and SMS messaging.
SwiftBroadband is designed to power the highest levels of network availability for government users. SwiftBroadband services are made possible via our I-4 satellites, with redundancy engineered into both space and ground segments.
SwiftBroadband enables ultimate connectivity for a consistent global experience across the whole aircraft so government users can remain in constant contact with commanding officers and allies, no matter where in the world they fly.
Our network infrastructure is built to the highest security standards and we employ a dedicated cyber security team. SwiftBroadband supports high-assurance applications, including NSA Type-1 and NATO secret encryption systems.
SwiftBroadband delivers a high-quality, reliable voice service in flight with the full functionality of terrestrial fixed phone services. Each SwiftBroadband channel provides a circuit-switched voice channel to the aircraft. All voice services can be used in parallel with a combination of packet-switched data services.
In standard IP mode, SwiftBroadband makes available 432kbps per channel to the aircraft. It can also provide a predetermined quality of service through dynamically-assigned streaming classes, which can be combined to achieve higher data throughput our X-Stream service. And with the introduction of SwiftBroadband HDR, customers can achieve speeds of up to 650kbps. When more bandwidth is needed, an operator can add equipment to allow concurrent use of up to four SwiftBroadband channels.
Combined with the use of performance-enhancing technologies such as data compression, IP and application optimisation, SwiftBroadband is your ultimate solution. For backward compatibility, it comes with circuit-switched integrated services for digital networks (ISDNs).
Through Assured Access, users receive a guaranteed data rate within a defined geographic region that can be shared with more than one terminal.
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Unmanned aircraft
SB-UAV
Unmanned Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) is one of the fastest growing markets for satellite services but the constraints on SWAP considerations have often made it difficult to connect the smaller UAVs. SB-UAV (Class 4 Service) enables Viasat connectivity in low altitude, long endurance (LALE) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) platforms and provides a reliable command and control communications link Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS), as well as a real time feed from the on-board payload sensors.
SB-UAV offers a Class 4, single channel ‘always on’ data service up to 200kbps and can offer streaming class services up to 32kbps.
The tiny, all in one terminal for LALE UAV’s
BLOS capability is now available to smaller LALE platforms thanks to the Cobham SATCOM AVIATOR UAV200 terminal, which dramatically reduces the size, weight and power requirement of the hardware terminal. The AVIATOR UAV 200 redefines UAV satcom connectivity by integrating everything into one compact, lightweight box. Weighing just 1.45 kg, it is 76% lighter than anything comparable on the market and is a perfect fit for the smaller UAVs favoured by governments.
Rotary Wing Services
SB-Helo X-Stream
The SB-Helo X-Stream service has been specifically developed for rotary aircraft. The tailor-made solution is designed to achieve advanced streaming performance on intermediate and high-gain antennas, alleviating the connectivity constraints traditionally caused by rotary blades.
SB-Helo X-Stream is an enhancement of our X-Stream service and builds on our commitment to further meet the needs of government customers and partners. The new technical solution expands the resilience of the service on the aircraft by mitigating against data packet loss and has been proven to achieve a 40% reduction in data packet loss while delivering throughputs of up to 400 kbps per single channel. Multiple channels can be aggregated enabling enhancements in the overall performance of the system.
Applications
- Cockpit safety services - ACARS, ADS, CPDLC
- Voice communications
- Electronic Flight Bag, flight plan, weather and chart updates
- Cabin Wi-Fi or wired connectivity
- In-seat and mobile phone
- VoIP and text messaging
- Email, intranet, internet and instant messaging
- Secure virtual private network (VPN) access
- Video conferencing
- Operational applications
- Aircraft performance monitoring and fault reporting for major systems
- General operational planning; scheduling and route planning
- Crew reporting and general administration
