Purpose of this Characteristic

This document sets forth the desired characteristics of the Mark I or Mark II 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 or ARINC 792 satcom system respectively.

ARINC Characteristic 793 describes the next generation fiber-optic based KSAT system. This document has not fully accounted for any specifics related to fiber-optic Ethernet interfaces. However, where possible, this document should provide guidance for the ARINC 793 KSAT system. A supplement for this document will be developed, if required, once ARINC Characteristic 793 is published.

The intent of this document is to provide guidance on the function, and interfaces of the 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 satcom system use for any required aviation safety functions can only be provided in a supplementary manner, without regard to availability or reliability beyond what can be demonstrated using Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) services. Future multibeam satcom systems with dedicated AOC/ATS radio channels may have more utility.

The key goal of this characteristic is to promote interchangeability at several 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 Interoperability: one Ku-band antenna subsystem can be used for different Ku-band satellite networks and the same Ka antenna subsystem can be used for different Ka-band satellite networks. 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. If multiple modems are employed with an electronic switch and controller function, then a change of satellite network providers could be possible at any time, even during flight. In this embodiment, a terminal controller would make the decision about which network is to be active for a certain geographic region or time. The terminal controller function would be part of the modem manager.

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 3.0 to 6.0.

• Antenna Subsystem and Modman Interoperability: 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.