ZTE, Qualcomm and Aircell Collaborate on Industry-first In-flight Mobile Broadband System

(Top News, 19 Nov 2008)

ZTE USA Inc., a subsidiary of ZTE Corp., and Qualcomm Inc. are collaborating with Aircell to create the networking platform for Aircell's new Inflight Internet service, Gogo, which first began service in August on select American Airlines flights. Aircell's Air-to-Ground (ATG) service relies on ZTE's EV-DO Rev. A base stations and IP switching platform and Qualcomm's aircraft-mounted modems. ZTE, Aircell and Qualcomm's R&D group worked closely to engineer a custom solution that would maximize the performance of the in-flight service.

ZTE's base stations are stationed across the U.S. to support service for Aircell's airline customers. While en route, subscriber Wi-Fi traffic is transmitted to ZTE's CDMA EV-DO Rev. A networking equipment via Qualcomm's aircraft-mounted modems. The technology was engineered to accommodate the high speed and high altitude of aircraft connecting with the base station. As a result, the service dramatically improves upon previous in-flight wireless services, which were slow, expensive and complex.

"At ZTE, we are committed to developing customized and flexible solutions that enable our customers and partners to offer their own customers the most innovative and desirable applications and services," says Dr. George Sun, CEO, ZTE USA. "In this instance, by working closely with Aircell and Qualcomm, we were able to tap into the brightest R&D minds available to create the most cutting-edge and flexible networking platform. We look forward to working with Aircell and Qualcomm to scale the platform to support increasing demand and future expansion of the service."

"Qualcomm was pleased to collaborate with Aircell and ZTE to help enable this unique wireless data innovation," says Ahmad Jalali, Vice President of Technology for Qualcomm. "EV-DO Rev. A was a clear choice for creating a powerful, spectrally efficient and high-speed data connection to carry the aircraft's passenger traffic to ZTE base stations on the ground."

"When designing our industry-first in-flight mobile broadband service, we were searching for companies that would work hand-in-hand with us to create a flexible and customized networking platform that was optimized for our unique ATG needs," says Joe Cruz, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Aircell. "We found those allies in ZTE and Qualcomm. As a result, we are able to offer our customers the best possible broadband experience on North America's only comprehensive Inflight Internet service."

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