Service providers and airlines looking for an aircraft antenna to support Ku-band satellite passenger broadband have a new name to conjure with. KuStream 1000 is the label bestowed on the system being jointly offered by TECOM Industries of California and Germany’s QEST.
QEST first came to the attention of the industry at the 2007 WAEA show, where it unveiled a unique, highly compact dual L/Ku-band design embodying advanced technologies such as cryoelectronic ultra-low-noise amplification. Last year the company teamed with established airborne antenna supplier TECOM to commercialise its work and gain a foothold in the North American market.
In KuStream 1000 the partners are now offering an all-Ku-band system capable of operating in the 11.7-12.75GHz (receive) and 14-14.5GHz (transmit) bands to support megabit rates to and from the aircraft. The companies say that over-the-satellite trials in recent weeks demonstrated rates in the 2-4Mbit/sec range.
The antenna comprises three line units: the fuselage-mounted satellite antenna assembly (SAA), a rectangular array mounted on a two-axis, low-profile positioner; the antenna control unit (ACU); and the high-power transceiver (HPT).
The system will be on show at the Satellite 2009 conference in Washington DC (March 25-27) and at Aircraft Interiors Expo (March 31-April 2) in Hamburg. There it is sure to attract the scrutiny not only of potential buyers but also of a large community of competitors. These include Starling of Israel and US-based EMS Technologies, teamed to supply Panasonic with antennas for its emerging eXconnect service, and US companies AeroSat and ViaSat, associated respectively with Row 44 and ARINC/Rockwell Collins SKYLink/eXchange.
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