CBI member, Airbus has announced that the aviation company’s Innovation Centre in Shenzhen has signed an agreement with China Mobile to develop in-flight WIFI services to meet the need for greater in-air connectivity.
The agreement is between the Airbus China Innovation Centre and China Mobile Intelligent Mobility Network Technology Company.
According to the CEO of the Airbus China Innovation Centre, Luo Gang: “The cooperation will develop end-to-end solutions and create new in-flight high-speed connectivity, leveraging the favourable policy on the use of portable electronic devices on board aircraft and the upcoming 5-G technology.”
Airbus and China Mobile hope to be the first to benefit from the lifting of curbs on the use of mobile devices on domestic flights made by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in January. From the start of this year, passengers on flights operating within China’s airspace can use mobile phones, tablets and laptops during the entire flight, as long as they have airplane mode switched on.
China’s in-flight WIFI market is expected to enter a rapid growth period over the next few years. Most domestic routes are yet to be equipped with WIFI services, due to technology and cost limitations.
The wider in-flight services market is already proving to be one where there is appetite from Chinese companies to partner with established foreign players. For example, CBI member Thales recently announced that they had extended their partnership with China Southern Airlines to provide in-flight entertainment systems across the airline’s Boeing fleet.
With domestic companies lacking the infrastructure and/or technology to provide such services themselves – within a timeframe that meets the expectations of the rapidly increasing number of Chinese passengers – agreements such as between Airbus and China Mobile are the only way Chinese companies can increase and improve their services.
This is especially significant considering that the China aviation market is expected to become the world’s largest aviation market by 2022, two years earlier than expected by IATA forecasts. It would be anticipated that such growth would trickle down to the in-flight services market by extension.
Airbus is ahead of the curve when it comes to developing products for the Asia market. The company’s Shenzhen innovation centre that opened last year was the first such facility in Asia; its new partner managed by China Mobile was opened in June.
Currently, in-flight WIFI mostly relies on the KU band signal, which makes it susceptible to instability during flights. Airbus and China Mobile hope that by investing resources into researching smart transportation fields, they will be able to significantly improve upon current provisions.
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