Ericsson has made an important announcement for the inflight connectivity sector: its 5G-ready network is now fully operational, enabling Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) and its subsidiary AeroMobile, a global GSMA telecoms operator, to offer higher quality data, voice and messaging services to airline passengers.
Named ‘Core Network as a Service’, the 5G system is a collaboration between Ericsson, Panasonic and AeroMobile which started in 2016. Every passenger whose mobile service provider has a roaming agreement with AeroMobile can use the service, which is supported by mobile operators across the globe and delivered inflight by more than 20 of Panasonic’s global commercial airline customers.
The geo-redundant solution includes virtualized network applications such as packet core, unified data management, mediation, and mobile switching delivered on the Ericsson NFV Infrastructure, able to support 5G services to passengers and airlines.
Kevin Rogers, CEO of AeroMobile, stated, “Our partnership with Ericsson, and the technology provided, will allow us to better serve the communications needs of our passenger and airline customers. Furthermore, the solution enables us to grow our footprint and expand into other services offering a richer experience for the passenger and operational efficiencies for our airline customers. We are looking forward to continuing our exciting collaboration with Ericsson.”
Ericsson and Panasonic Avionics will explore other services to address further market segments and opportunities, while ensuring service continuity and the constant evolution of the live network, including exploring new 5G use cases.
