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The Seamless Air Alliance, a consortium of airlines, airframers, original equipment manufacturers, and suppliers, has entered into a memorandum of intent with the European Space Agency (ESA). The agreement was signed at the Farnborough Airshow and aims to push for cellular-from-space requirements for inflight connectivity through the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).
Seamless CEO Jack Mandala emphasized the importance of this partnership in prioritizing cellular technology within 3GPP's work items. "This agreement helps give us more clout to keep cellular prioritized among the work items in 3GPP: writing code for Ka and Ku bands so that we can do cellular in space," said Mandala. He added that achieving a common modem is the ultimate goal.
Mandala highlighted the need for interoperability and technological agnosticism across various stakeholders, including Airbus and Boeing. He noted that moving towards a common cellular modem would streamline operations due to economies of scale and enhanced interoperability. "The cellular industry has been working at this for over 50 years," he said.
