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AIRBORNE INTERNET

Abstract
The word on just about every Internet user's lips these days is "broadband." We have so much more data to send and download today, including audio files, video files and photos, that it's clogging our wimpy modems. any Internet users are switching to cable modems and digital subscriber lines !"#$s% to increase their bandwidth. There's also a new type of service being developed that will ta&e broadband into the air. In this paper, we'll learn about the future of the Airborne Internet. We'll ta&e a loo& at the networ&s in development, the aircraft and how consumers may use this technology. $and'based lines are limited physically in how much data they can deliver because of the diameter of the cable or phone line. In an airborne Internet, there is no such physical limitation, enabling a broader capacity. The airborne Internet will function much li&e satellite'based Internet access, but without the time delay. The airborne Internet will actually be used to compliment the satellite and ground'based networ&s, not replace them. These airborne networ&s will overcome the last'mile barriers facing conventional Internet access options. This paper addresses some of the trends and issues involved in developing an Airborne Internet capable of achieving this goal. (nderstanding relationships between these trends and issues and the objectives and functional re)uirements of the program will allow various participants in this comple* program to &eep activities in proper perspective. The all' round development and improvement are the &ey areas of research wor& performed in this paper.

I+T,-"(.TI-+/
Airborne Internet is a private, secure and reliable peer'to'peer aircraft communications networ& that uses the same technology as the commercial Internet. It is an www.applebuz.com Page 0

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implementation which connects aircraft to a ground'based Internet access node, including the information which is passed across this communication lin&. It provides airborne access to wealth of Internet information and resources. It is convenient and has several uses li&e flight planning, en route reservations, travel arrangements. It is useful in providing the information about weather, surrounding airspace environment and for aircraft'to'aircraft communications. The security applications include flight trac&ing1deviation monitoring, in' flight video monitoring, coc&pit voice1video recording. This Airborne Internet !A.I.% is an approach to provide a general purpose, multi' application data channel to aviation. In doing so, A.I. has the potential to provide significant cost savings for aircraft operators as it allows the consolidation of many functions into a common data channel. A primary application for A.I. is to trac& aircraft for the air traffic control system. any other applications can utili2e the same A.I. data channel. The applications available are only limited by the bandwidth available. A.I. began as a supporting technology for +A#A3s #mall Aircraft Transportation #ystem !#AT#%. 4ut there is no reason that A.I. should be limited to #AT#'class aircraft. All of aviation, and even transportation, has the potential to benefit from A.I. The principle behind the A.I. is to establish a robust, reliable, and available digital data channel to aircraft.

5ow does satellite Internet operate6

5ow do you access the Internet other than dial'up if you live too far from a phone company office for "#$ and there is no cable T7 on your street6 #atellite Internet access may be worth considering. It's ideal for rural Internet users who want broadband access. #atellite Internet does not use telephone lines or cable systems, but instead uses a satellite dish for two-way !upload and download% data communications. (pload speed is about onetenth of the 899 &bps download speed. .able and "#$ have higher download speeds, but satellite systems are about 09 times faster than a normal modem. :irms that offer or plan to offer two'way satellite Internet include #tar4and, ;egasus <*press, Teledesic and Tachyon. Tachyon service is available today in the (nited #tates, Western <urope and e*ico. ;egasus <*press is the two'way version of "irec;..

Two'way satellite Internet consists of/

Appro*imately a two'foot by three'foot dish Page =

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Two modems !uplin& and downlin&% .oa*ial cables between dish and modem

The &ey installation planning re)uirement is a clear view to the south, since the orbiting satellites are over the e)uator area. And, li&e satellite T7, trees and heavy rains can affect reception of the Internet signals.

5ow the Airborne Internet Will Wor&

The word on just about every Internet user's lips these days is "broadband." We have so much more data to send and download today, including audio files, video files and photos, that it's clogging our wimpy modems. any Internet users are switching to cable modems and digital subscriber lines !"#$3s% to increase their bandwidth. There's also a new type of service being developed that will ta&e broadband into the air.

;hoto

courtesy

Angel

Technologies

This diagram shows how the HALO Network will enable a high-speed wireless Internet onne tion

At least three companies are planning to provide high'speed wireless Internet connection by placing aircraft in fi*ed patterns over hundreds of cities. Angel Technologies is planning an airborne Internet networ&, called High Altitude Long Operation !5A$-%, which would use lightweight planes to circle overhead and provide data delivery faster than a T0 line for businesses. .onsumers would get a connection comparable to "#$. Also, Aero 7ironment has teamed up with +A#A on a solar'powered, unmanned plane that would wor& www.applebuz.com Page >

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li&e the 5A$- networ&, and #&y #tation International is planning a similar venture using blimps instead of planes. +ow we3ll loo& at the networ&s in development, the aircraft and how consumers may use this technology at their homes.

The +et Ta&es :light

The computer most people use comes with a standard 8?@ modem, which means that in an ideal situation your computer would downstream at a rate of 8? &ilobits per second. That speed is far too slow to handle the huge streaming'video and music files that more consumers are demanding today. That's where the need for bigger bandwidth 4roadband comes in, allowing a greater amount of data to flow to and from your computer. $and'based lines are limited physically in how much data they can deliver because of the diameter of the cable or phone line. In an airborne Internet, there is no such physical limitation, enabling a broader capacity. #everal companies have already shown that satellite Internet access can wor&. The airborne Internet will function much li&e satellite'based Internet access, but without the time delay. 4andwidth of satellite and airborne Internet access are typically the same, but it will ta&e less time for the airborne Internet to relay data because it is not as high up. #atellites orbit at several hundreds of miles above <arth. The airborne'Internet aircraft will circle overhead at an altitude of 8=,999 to ?A,999 feet !08,BCA to =0,9>0 meters%. At this altitude, the aircraft will be undisturbed by inclement weather and flying well above commercial air traffic. +etwor&s using high'altitude aircraft will also have a cost advantage over satellites because the aircraft can be deployed easily '' they don't have to be launched into space. 5owever, the airborne Internet will actually be used to compliment the satellite and ground' based networ&s, not replace them. These airborne networ&s will overcome the last-mile barriers facing conventional Internet access options. The "last mile" refers to the fact that access to high'speed cables still depends on physical pro*imity, and that for this reason, not everyone who wants access can have it. It would ta&e a lot of time to provide universal access

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using cable or phone lines, just because of the time it ta&es to install the wires. An airborne networ& will immediately overcome the last mile as soon as the aircraft ta&es off. The airborne Internet won't be completely wireless. There will be ground'based components to any type of airborne Internet networ&. The consumers will have to install an antenna on their home or business in order to receive signals from the networ& hub overhead. The networ&s will also wor& with established Internet #ervice ;roviders !I#;s%, who will provide their high'capacity terminals for use by the networ&. These I#;s have a fiber point of presence '' their fiber optics are already set up. What the airborne Internet will do is provide an infrastructure that can reach areas that don't have broadband cables and wires.

;hoto courtesy Angel Technologies

Airborne-Internet systems will re!uire that an antenna be atta hed to the side o" your house or work pla e#

In the ne*t three sections, we will ta&e a loo& at the three aircraft that could be bringing you broadband Internet access from the s&y.

.ompare1.ontrast to ground based internet/

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I ;$< <+TATI-+ #D#T< #/ A 5A$- -verhead

The Angel Technologies is developing an air borne internet networ& through its 5A$- +etwor&. The centerpiece of this networ& is the ;roteus plane, which will carry wireless networ&ing e)uipment into the air.

;hoto

courtesy

Angel

Technologies

The $roteus plane will arry the network hub "or the HALO Network#

The ;roteus plane,developed by #caled .omposites is designed with long wings and the low wing loading needed for e*tended high'altitude flight. Wing loading is e)ual to the www.applebuz.com Page ?

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entire mass of the plane divided by its wing area. ;roteus will fly at heights of A.8 and 00.C miles !08.> and 0B.> &m% and cover an area up to E8 miles !0=9.E &m% in diameter.

$roteus Air ra"t

%eight A,999 pounds at ta&eoff 8,A99 pounds empty EE ft E inches !=>.E m%

%ingspan Length Height Engines Range &peed

<*pandable to A= feet !=B m% 8?.> ft !0E.= m% 0E.? ft !8.C m% = turbofan engines

=,>99 pounds of thrust 0B hours ?8 &nots !E8 mph10=9.E &ph%

to =89 &nots !=BB mph1C?>.8 &ph%

At the heart of Angel's ;roteus plane is the one'ton airborne'networ& hub, which allows the plane to relay data signals from ground stations to wor&places and homes. The AI networ& hub consists of an antenna array and electronics for wireless communication. The antenna array creates hundreds of virtual cells, li&e mobile'phone cells, on the ground to serve thousands of users. An 0B'foot dish underneath the plane is responsible for reflecting high'speed data signals from a ground station to your computer. <ach city in the 5A$+etwor& will be allotted three piloted ;roteus planes. <ach plane will fly for eight hours before the ne*t plane ta&es off and after ta&eoff it will climb to a safe altitude, above any bad weather or commercial traffic, and begin an B'mile loop around the city.

:loating -n Air
#&y #tation International is counting on its blimps,in the race to deliver high'speed Internet access from high altitudes and calls them as lighter'than'air platforms, and plans to station these airships,one over each city. <ach station would fly at an altitude of 0> miles !=0 &m% and provide wireless service to an area of appro*imately E,899 s)uare miles !0A,999 s)uare &m%.

&ky &tation Blimp

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'iameter Length %idth $ower =9> ft !?= m% 808 ft !08E m% appro*. >99 ft !A0 m% #olar and fuel cells

<ach blimp will be e)uipped with a telecommunications payload to provide wireless broadband connections. The blimps will be able to carrying payloads of up to about =,=99 pounds !0,999 &g%. <ach blimp will have a life span of about five to 09 years. #&y #tation says that its user terminals will enable broadband connections of between = and 09 megabits per second ! bps%.

+A#A's #ub'space ;lans/

+A#A is also playing a role in a potential airborne Internet system being developed by Aero7ironment.

;hoto

courtesy

+A#A

The Helios air ra"t will be e!uipped with tele ommuni ations e!uipment and stay airborne "or si( months straight#

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Helios Air ra"t

%eight %ingspan Length %ing Area $ropulsion =,9CB pounds !A=A &g% =CE ft !E8.> m% 0= ft !>.E m% 0,AE? s)uare ft !0B>.? m=% 0C brushless, ='horsepower,

direct'current electric motors 0 to > hours in prototype tests ? months when fully operational 0A to =8 mph !>9.? to C9.= &ph%

Range &peed

The 5elios prototype is constructed out of materials such as carbon fiber, graphite epo*y, @evlar and #tyrofoam, covered with a thin, transparent s&in. The main pole supporting the wing is made out of carbon fiber, and is thic&er on the top than on the bottom in order to absorb the constant bending during flight. The wing's ribs are made of epo*y and carbon fiber. #tyrofoam comprises the wing's front edge, and a clear, plastic film is wrapped around the entire wing body. The all'wing plane is divided into si* sections, each C0 ft !0=.8 m% long. A pod carrying the landing gear is attached under the wing portion of each section. These pods also house the batteries, flight'control computers and data instrumentation. +etwor& hubs for Aero7ironment's telecommunications system would li&ely be placed here as well. www.applebuz.com Page A

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It seems that airborne Internet could ta&e off in the very near future. If and when those planes and blimps start circling to supplement our current modes of connection, downloading the massive files we've come to crave for entertainment or depend on for business purposes will be a snap '' even if we live somewhere in that "last mile."

Why all this detail6

The rather lengthy and detailed e*planation just provided is to illustrate how the use of I; can very dependably be relied on to deliver networ& communications. Aircraft use of communication and navigation information must be nearly real time, highly dependable and it must have bac&up redundancy. I; has inherent redundancy in its digital delivery system, ma&ing it an e*cellent candidate for aircraft use. The reason I; has never been used in an aircraft conte*t before is because until now there has not been a method proposed to &eep the aircraft connected to the networ&, so that the I; connection is never lost. +ow it is appropriate to e*amine how aircraft currently operate so we can draw both analogy and cite the differences between present day aircraft Fnetwor&sG and an I; based aviation networ& !Airborne Internet%.

,oadmap of future activities

We intend to continue applying the methodology defined above to develop Airborne Internet alternatives, analy2e the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative and arrive at a recommendation. Then, wor&ing with other #AT# organi2ations we will refine the architecture and document it for use by system developers. @ey elements of the architecture will be prototyped and evaluated to better understand their applicability to #AT#. <stimates of performance and cost will be made. A separate security assessment will be produced.

.onclusion
Thus this airborne internet technology has a wide range of utilities in the field of aviation services li&e aircraft monitoring and air traffic management, weather information etc., and also provides an opportunity for the passengers to access the internet at very high altitudes that is, in the aeroplanes and other conventional
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services. Thus it is a further new trend in this mobile world which is establishing the connectivity by building networ& in the air.

,eferences/

www.airborneinternet.org www.airborneinternet.com airborneinternet.pbwi&i.com spacecom.grc.nasa.gov1icnsconf1docs1=99?19=H#essionHA0 acb099.tc.faa.gov14riefings1#ept=B,=998@eegan web.uwaterloo.ca1uwsearch.php6hlIenJlrIJieI(T:'BJ)Irelated/www.aerosat.com ieee*plore.ieee.org1iel8109C>=1>>0=?19088ACC9.pdf6arnumberI088AC www.datev.de1dpile*i&on1#how$e*i&on.ontent.do6 begriffIairborneinternetJtypIbuchstabe www.tc.faa.gov1actC1insidethefence

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