Thuraya Telecommunications Company (Stand H91) is showcasing Thuraya Aero, its new airborne satellite in-flight communications service. Developed for small- to medium-size aircraft, the service supports Internet access, voice calls, text messaging, and real time high-speed data applications including video-conferencing and transmitting aerial surveillance imagery. Thuraya developed the service in collaboration with the Aero Group, an international consortium whose members include Cobham, Scotty Group, SRT Wireless and smp aviation.
The Aero division was established last year, and Dutch aerospace services company NL Easp Air became its launch partner, with plans to use the service in its surveillance-related missions conducted for the European Border Agency. The service incorporates “the only terminal of its kind with built-in video compression and the ability to handle HD streaming speeds of up to 700 kbps,” said Keith Murray, Thuraya product manager for Aero. Here at the show, Thuraya can “demonstrate to prospective customers how this service offers the best-in-market operational performance and flexibility at the most affordable rates,” Murray said.
Thuraya Aero recently signed an MOU with SIT Sports, which covers events in the Iberian Peninsula, to install the system on the company’s fixed and rotary wing aircraft, with the goal of using the service to live-stream major sporting events.