Wi-Fi TESTING
Inflight Wi-Fi is fast becoming the technology that fliers plan their flight by. One recent traveler told IFExpress that their flight was “ruined” by the lack of Internet on an overseas trip. As fliers depend on wireless services on planes, the responsibility falls on the airline techs to deliver a product that is difficult to test, especially on the flight line. Today, most WiFi testing is done with laptops with special software or USB dongles that require test runs in each location to be tested and this can run into schedule problems for the tester and the plane. Along comes AirCheck from Fluke Networks and testing Wi-Fi becomes a whole different matter. AirCheck is their solution to Wi-Fi testing and as we researched the product, we contacted Fluke for more data. “While the AirCheck Wi-Fi Test has not been tested for aviation usage, it could be a great tool for those designing and deploying in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity, due to its ease of use and ability to quickly discover all the networks and access points on an aircraft. AirCheck can determine if any coverage limitations exist and point out possible interference issues,” said Carolyn Carter, product manager at Fluke Networks. “Since AirCheck boots in under 3 seconds and provides a streamlined user interface, users can instantly get to the answers they need.” As an aside, Mrs. Carter told IFExpress that an airplane could be tested in 5 to 10 minutes by simply walking around the interior while monitoring the results. That may be optimistic but because it performs the testing automatically in real-time – you don’t wait for results. Line crews can even “flag” results for further evaluation later. Nice! AirCheck can look at 802.11 a/b/g/n networks and quickly detect coverage problems, interference, connectivity issues, failed access points, network security settings, and even rogue access points and misbehaving clients. A tech flying on an actual flight can “see” networks, list access points and clients, determine channel usage and analyze client details, not to mention bogus access point detection. Profiles can be downloaded for later review as well. But the beauty of AirCheck lies in testing time savings. What used to take almost an hour can be performed with AirCheck in a couple of minutes. Get a free 5 day evaluation and find a reseller. We urge interested readers to download the Data sheet & Solution Brief and we found the online demo video a real eye-opener.

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PREDICTIONS
In the last issue of IFExpress we published a couple of our early predictions and this issue we have a few more. We also thought your might like to review last year’s IFE forecasts – about 80% hit the mark. Here are a few more for 2012:

1. “I foresee an increase of PED power requirements on domestic flights.  Today PED Power is standard wide-body aircraft.  In 2012 and beyond, Internet connectivity will be adopted on domestic fleets, narrow body aircraft will travel longer routes, and passengers will carry more devices onboard.  This will increase the PED Power market to include a large portion of the worlds’ narrow-body aircraft.” – Mike Hettich, Astronics

2. “I believed that 2011 was going to be a big transition year and it was. The iPad launched with Hollywood studio approval. Samsung and American introduced the Galaxy Tab in-flight. Android took a front seat on many systems. Connectivity companies started testing streaming content. Seat-centric systems gained notoriety and orders. Wireless systems grabbed headlines, thank you Virgin. And IFE vendors better integrated consumer trends such as social media. I’m sure that there will be some big announcements in 2012, but I don’t expect to see as strong a revolution. In other words, I believe that the industry is still on the cusp of many of the aforementioned changes and will continue to evolve those trends rather than introduce all new technologies and trends. What I am watching with some anticipation is what happens with better Internet speeds, HTML5, CSS3 and javascript. Web based applications can create some very exciting and unique opportunities if the bandwidth and device horsepower are there. I would love to see someone come in and rock that world.” – Adam Williams, digEcor

3. “There was a lot of movement in 2011 toward file-based workflow, and SMPTE will issue an Interoperable Master Format (IMF) standard in 2012, probably by the second quarter. We didn’t specifically see consolidation in the CSP sector in 2011, but we did see a hostile management takeover of the biggest one with the pursuit of significant changes in their business model. I believe that consolidation there will still happen, and that file-based workflow and centralized asset management will begin to reverse the de-centralization of post-production. Jetstar did finally deploy an iPad solution with content support from four of the six studios, and Apple has become quietly involved in the space, supporting the efforts of those who have engaged them properly. Seat-centric IFE systems experienced substantial success in 2011, but during the second half of the year, wireless IFE systems also emerged successfully. In 2012, I believe that wireless IFE will be a very big story, and the successful deployment of iPads and other COTS devices—often in conjunction with wireless—will continue, aided in no small way by the increase in native security of the consumer versions, along with the maturation of relationships by systems integrators with COTS manufacturers. 2012 may see the line-fit exclusivity of Panasonic and Thales challenged successfully.” – Anonymous

4. “FTTS technology takes off with multiple customer orders, collaboration with WIFI inclusive in IFE suites, and Regional jets embrace WIFI and IFE with scalable systems.” Earle Olson – Tyco

5. “2012 will be the year of the mobile payment. Now that nearly all of the mobile phone suppliers are including NFC technology into their phones, you will find a huge roll-out of the technology in many parts of the World. Card swipe technology is almost dead everywhere except the USA, but even there it’s going to be phased out within THREE years. So what are airlines going to do with all those handsets and screens with card swipes in them? Why on earth would anyone consider designing a card swipe onto an IFE system today? The message is: Forget Card Swipe, and get on board with NFC now.” – Geoff Underwood, IFPL (Editors Note: We just got and update from Geoff: “Re: My prediction…. looks like it’s out of date already! I hear that someone has come up with a secure way of making mag swipes “smart”…..thus, mag swipes may not die in the end ….”)
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STEVE
Steve Jobs said this before he knew about his terminal disease – we thought of all the IFE pioneers whom we lost this past year when we read it:
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs

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