Datalink services provider Sitaonair of Switzerland and avionics manufacturer Teledyne Controls (Chalet 4) announced here at the Paris Air Show plans to co-develop the first airline integrated ACARS datalink terrestrial cellular service.

Datalink services are chiefly provided using VHF/VDL radio frequencies and satellites to transmit data messages. But Sitaonair can integrate terrestrial 3G/4G cellular services into its core datalink network by using Teledyne Controls’ GroundLink Comm, said Dominique El Bez, the Swiss company’s v-p of strategy. This provides an additional communication channel for aircraft communications, increasing message transmission capacity while providing a consistent interface for seamless service delivery across networks. El Bez said this development “is the first step of several we are taking to bring new IP networks to aircraft for operational communications.”

Said Marshall Dormire, Teledyne’s v-p of business development and strategy, “Customers have been very interested to extend datalink functionality to Teledyne’s versatile GroundLink Comm+ system,” which automates wireless distribution of navigation databases, provides data interfaces for electronic flight bags, and collects recorded flight data for airlines.