Ka-, Ku-, L-Band and SwiftBroadband for Dummies

摘要

These satcom services are three flourishing, competitive technologies used in IFC offerings to business aviation. But remembering which is which can sometimes be challenging to the unfamiliar, so here's a concise refresher: 1. Ka-band operates in the 26.5-40 GHz radio frequency range. 2. Ku-band operates in the 12-18 GHz radio frequency range. 3. L-band mobile phones operate at 800-900 and 1700-2100 MHz. Iridium satellite phones use frequencies between 1616 and 1626.5 MHz to communicate with the satellites. Inmarsat and LightSquared terminals use frequencies between 1525 and 1646.5 MHz. Thuraya satellite phones use frequencies between 1525 and 1661 MHz. 4. SwiftBroadband, using the Inmarsat satellite constellation, is a packet-switched communications network. It's considered good for email, web surfing, weather, flight planning and phone calls. Streaming video and audio typically require more bandwidth, although lower quality video can be streamed with high-gain systems. It provides data connection of up to 650 Kbps per channel for aircraft globally (except for polar regions). Designed to compete in the business aviation communications market, the service is shared with other users of the system. There are 200 spot beams per satellite, with each beam supporting up to 90 channels of 432 Kbps of streaming service for the aviation market, which provides a guaranteed bandwidth of 650 Kbps. It further supports four new streaming rates.