France-based aerospace equipment and systems provider Thales Group has selected Sequans Communications to provide the latter’s LTE chipset technology to power European aircraft’s LTE access devices.
The technology will be provided as part of the European Aviation Network (EAN) high-speed in-flight broadband access solution.
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Under the deal, the LTE access devices, called complementary ground component (CGC) terminals, will be integrated onto aircraft flying over Europe and connect to the ground-based 3GPP LTE Network.
Sequans will provide Thales with LTE chipsets based on Release 10 technology of the 3GPP LTE standard.
Sequans supports major adaptations particularly designed to facilitate in-flight application such as high-speed profiles, high-transmitted power, and extended cell size support.
Designed to meet the requirements of airlines and their passengers across the traffic routes of Europe, EAN is currently being developed under a partnership between UK-based satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat and German telecommunications provider Deutsche Telekom.
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By GlobalDataDevelopment of the EAN connectivity platform is expected to be completed by next March with system trials and commercial service beginning afterward.
Once deployed, EAN will enable European airlines to provide reliable, high-speed, on-board internet access to passengers across Europe’s high-traffic flight routes.
The platform will use Inmarsat’s S-band spectrum allocation in all 28 EU member states.
Established in 2003, Sequans has so far developed and delivered six generations of 4G technology worldwide.
The company’s chips are said to be certified and shipping in 4G networks, including LTE and WiMAX.
