Global Eagle Entertainment has selected Kontron’s ACE Flight 4608 server aiming to deploy the ACE Flight 4608 as a key component of its next-generation Airconnect system starting in 2018.
The Airconnect system provides high-speed Ku-band connectivity services to airline customers around the world, and supports delivery of internet connectivity, IPTV and wireless IFE services to passengers and crew, while the ACE Flight 4608 acts as the Server Management Unit (SMU) in the Global Eagle system.
The ACE Flight 4608 Server is the latest airborne server product offering from Kontron, its 8-core Intel Xeon processor D-1539 with 32 GB RAM delivers data centre-grade performance. The company said, other server features include L3 managed Gigabit Ethernet switching, dual 4G modems with worldwide coverage, and an advanced cooling design that maximises reliability.
“Kontron has been a key supplier of Global Eagle for many years, and we recently achieved Linefit approval with them for several Kontron products on-board the Boeing 737 MAX,” said Andy Mason, vice-president technology at Kontron America. “Our line airborne servers form the backbone of Global Eagle’s existing deployed connectivity solutions currently flying on over 700 narrow-body aircraft.”
The ACE Flight 4608 launched in 2017 and has already been installed on more than 100 aircraft.
“Our collaboration with Kontron adds best-in-class in-flight connectivity and helps to remove the worry of aircraft downtime and revenue loss for retrofit installations,” said Per Norén, Global Eagle executive vice-president and chief commercial officer.
