[MilCom] [[email protected]: Bizjet Operators Scramble For New Service In Wake Of Verizon Pullout]

Tue Aug 22 00:56:20 EDT 2006

	More on the death of the commercial communications systems
that AF-1, AF-2 and the VIP fleet used up until recently to replace
the old Echo Fox system.

	I strongly suspect that some one of the Iridium options
is being used by 89th SAM... the DOD uses a great deal of Iridium
bandwidth and helped rescue Iridium when it went bankrupt and Motorola
wanted to shut it down.

------------  Quoted article follows -----------

Bizjet Operators Scramble For New Service In Wake Of Verizon Pullout
The Weekly of Business Aviation
08/14/2006 10:21:28 AM

The decision by Verizon Airfone to step out of the general aviation  
communications business has opened a new door in the competitive air- 
to-ground phone market as thousands of customers search for  
replacement service. Verizon Airfone last month began notifying  
customers that it would discontinue its service on Dec. 4, 2006  
unless it finds a buyer for the business. Verizon said it wanted to  
focus on its core business - broadband, wireline and ground-based  
wireless communications - and the air-to-ground business did not fit  
in its plans.

Verizon encouraged customers to "seek an alternate hardware and  
service provider that specializes in airborne telecommunications,"  
saying that the network has no formal relationships with other  
airborne telecommunication buyers. Customers would have the option of  
continuing service through 2010 if Verizon finds a buyer for the  
network, the company said, adding that any software changes to update  
the service would be the buyer's responsibility. Verizon also told  
customers they may terminate their service agreement early without a  
service fee.

Some 4,000 aircraft, mostly high-end business jets, are equipped with  
the MagnaStar system that uses the Verizon Airfone. Teledyne  
Controls, which sold the system until late last year, promised  
customers it would continue to repair and support the units in  
service. Teledyne Controls added that the company will offer  
customers "additional and competitive communications solutions" that  
could use other air-ground services, and that "details would be  
forthcoming." In the interim, the MagnaStar system could  
automatically use existing SATCOM systems that might be on board an  
aircraft if the Verizon service ends.

The news of the Verizon decision was not a complete surprise, since  
Teledyne Controls stopped taking orders for MagnaStar units last year  
and Verizon backed out of the FCC auction for spectrum allocation in  
May. Verizon in June acknowledged plans to exit the Airfone business  
in the commercial arena. But the news may be unwelcome for customers  
who paid upwards of $60,000 to $90,000 to have MagnaStar units  
installed. Industry observers doubted that use of SATCOM would be a  
viable long-term option for some customers, because the cost could  
run about $5 per minute for voice services.

Since release of the announcements, other companies in the airborne  
communications market have been inundated with calls from MagnaStar  
users. Newport News, Va.-based International Communications Group  
(ICG), which sells Iridium-based communications equipment, received  
more than 300 calls from MagnaStar users last week alone, a  
spokeswoman said. "We've been bombarded by phone calls. The customers  
are almost in a panic," she said. ICG released a statement last week  
saying it was introducing an "Iridium satellite conversion program"  
for customers. ICG is offering to swap out the MagnaStar system with  
its Iridium-based units, including the AeroCom 3000B, which is  
compatible with existing MagnaStar installations. ICG units will cost  
operators between $30,000-$40,000.

AirCell also has fielded a large number of calls, a spokesman said,  
noting that the company "is working to help operators understand  
what's happening and what their options are." AirCell was offering  
its ST3120 units as a "plug-in" option for the MagnaStar that would  
enable voice communications over the Iridium network. That system  
would cost about $38,000, plus installation, and take a week to  
install. Operators also could exchange their units for AirCell's  
Axxess, which is Iridium-based but could adapt to new technologies,  
such as broadband. The cost of the upgrade would run about $45,000.

--
   Dave Emery N1PRE,  die at dieconsulting.com  DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass 02493
"An empty zombie mind with a forlorn barely readable weatherbeaten
'For Rent' sign still vainly flapping outside on the weed encrusted pole - in 
celebration of what could have been, but wasn't and is not to be now either."