Purpose of this Characteristic

This document sets forth the desired characteristics of the Mark I Aviation Ku-band and Ka-band Satellite Communication (Satcom) Systems intended for installation in all types of commercial air transport aircraft, referred to as an ARINC 791 satcom system.

The intent of this document is to provide guidance on the form, fit, function, and interfaces of the ARINC 791 satcom system. This document also describes the desired operational capability of the equipment needed to provide a broadband network that can be used for data, video, and voice communications typically used for passenger communications and/or entertainment.

The ARINC 791 satcom system is not intended, at this writing, for any required aviation safety functions.

The key goal of this characteristic is to promote interchangeability at a number of levels, as shown below, with the aim of minimizing airline life cycle costs:

• Aircraft Manufacturer Interchangeability: the same equipment can be fitted to aircraft built by different aircraft manufacturers.
• Aircraft Type Interchangeability: the same equipment can be fitted to a large number of different aircraft types.
• Equipment Manufacturer Interchangeability: equipment from different manufacturers can be fitted to standardized aircraft provisions.
• Frequency Band Interchangeability: the same aircraft provisions can be used for either Ku-band or Ka-band equipment.
• Satellite System Interchangeability: one Ku-band antenna subsystem can be used for different Ku-band satellite systems and the same Ka antenna subsystem can be used for different Ka-band satellite systems. That is, in the future an airline could change their satellite provider (provided that the frequency band is not changed) and could reuse an antenna subsystem, although a new Modem and System Manager (Modman) would be required.
• Note: Outside Antenna Equipment (OAE), the Ku/Ka-band Radio Frequency Unit (KRFU) and the Ku/Ka-band Aircraft Networking Data Unit (KANDU) (which are collectively known as the Antenna Subsystem) and Modman are described in Sections 3 to 6.
• Antenna Subsystem and Modman Interchangeability: a consequence of Satellite System Interchangeability is that the Antenna Subsystem can be sourced from one supplier and the Modman can be sourced from a different supplier.