Satcom Direct (Booth H227) is highlighting a new dual-purpose aircraft connectivity solution and unveiling a partnership for enhanced mission management this week at ABACE 2016, in addition its expanding line of onboard communication services.

The new Wi-Fi Hub that Satcom Direct is displaying satisfies connectivity needs for both smaller-cabin business jets and executive-configured airliners. For bizliners equipped with the company’s Satcom Direct Router (SDR), the Wi-Fi Hub acts as a signal booster, ensuring adequate bandwidth for heavy Internet connectivity demands throughout large cabins.

For light and midsize business jets, the hub provides global voice and text in a small package, though without all the connectivity power and features that the SDR offers. One difference is that the Wi-Fi Hub does not offer the 3G/4G cellular connectivity of the larger SDR, although plans are for Satcom Direct to add that capability in the next version of the Wi-Fi Hub.

“The feedback from customers–those in smaller and larger airframes–is ‘we want a smaller, lighter and less expensive Wi-Fi hub’,” said Michael Christensen, Satcom Direct’s general director for Asia, explaining the hub’s genesis.

Though not matching the SDR’s full capabilities in standalone installations, the hub will enable newer services “more relevant to smaller aircraft,” Christensen said. Nonetheless, the company believes the primary application in Greater China will be as a signal booster for larger airframes, given their preponderance in the region’s fleet. But even as a standalone, the hub provides all of Satcom Direct’s cabin apps, security features and other integrated offerings, such as FlightDeck Freedom–its unlimited, fixed-rate datalink service.

Just one inch high and weighing only 1.6 pounds, the hub’s compact size provides great flexibility in where the unit can be mounted, even in a side ledge. The hub casing is made from a solid, milled aluminum billet for superior strength and heat dissipation, which extends the life of the electronic components. The hub is available now, and the next version will be available later this year, according to Christensen.

Universal Weather Partnership

Satcom Direct is also highlighting a new partnership that integrates its FlightDeck Freedom (FDF) datalink with Universal Weather and Aviation’s online flight planning and weather services. The alliance enables users to plan, build and manage all aspects of a mission through uvGO, Universal’s do-it-yourself mission-planning and management solution.

“UvGO integrates all of our services and functionality into one simple interface that has been redesigned around the way business aircraft operators tell us they plan and manage their missions,” said Denio Alvarado, senior vice president of global product strategy for Universal Weather.

Subscribers receive the seamless, bundled datalink and flight-planning service through a single contract and invoice. FlightDeck Freedom enables the flight crew to monitor cabin communications to affirm cabin voice and Internet services are working properly. It also gives schedulers/dispatchers and maintenance personnel access to automated takeoff and landing reports, as well as the ability to email messages to and from the aircraft and monitor aircraft position at any time with the company’s SD Flight Tracker.

“This collaboration perfectly fits our mission of advancing the industry by both developing new technologies and bringing together the right partners to deliver unmatched capabilities,” said Jim Jensen, Satcom Direct founder and CEO.

ABACE attendees who activate an aircraft on the bundled package will also get SD FlightLogs included, free of charge, throughout 2016. Aircraft buyers who aren’t expecting delivery soon can still receive six months of SD FlightLogs for free by signing up here at the show.