New Zealand could become the first country to rollout a nationwide network of Direct-Air-To-Ground (DA2G) broadband connectivity, if a trial proves successful.
Auckland-based technology engineering firm, The Broadtech Group has signed a -Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with German-based in-flight connectivity specialist SkyFive, to perform a detailed technical evaluation and a proof-of-concept trial of SkyFive’s Direct-Air-To-Ground (DA2G) solution.
Flightcell International from New Zealand will provide the DA2G on-board termina during the trial.
The technical design phase of the trial is almost complete, and the physical build will commence soon for an Auckland and Waikato trial network to be built and integrated by Broadtech, which recently secured a Trial Spectrum License in the proposed A2G frequency band in New Zealand.
In Europe, the European Aviation Network (EAN) currently covers 35 countries and utilises SkyFive technology to provide data speeds of up to 100 Mbps per aircraft with less than 50 milliseconds of true end-to-end latency to passengers and crew travelling in high-altitude jet aircraft.
Zoltan Losteiner, Director of APAC Business Development at SkyFive, said: “We are thrilled to be participating in the development of the local ecosystem to enable SkyFive’s DA2G to be trialled, and eventually commercially developed in this part of the world. We are committed to keeping New Zealanders at the cutting edge of technology and are confident that they will benefit from SkyFive’s global reach, expertise and agility to create new value for the aviation industry and its customers.”
