European Aviation Network testing at Nokia Stuttgart with onboard equipment. Photo: Nokia

[Via Satellite 11-28-2016] The European Aviation Network (EAN) has reached a significant milestone today after Inmarsat, Deutsche Telekom and its technology partners Nokia and Thales successfully conducted a program of test flights in the United Kingdom.

The EAN is planned for introduction in the middle of next year. The companies involved view this test flight program as a major milestone in the development of EAN, an integrated satellite and air-to-ground network dedicated to providing “a true in-flight broadband experience for the European aviation industry and for millions of passengers travelling across Europe,” according to a statement released by Inmarsat.

As a precursor to the test flight series, Deutsche Telekom and Nokia jointly achieved the first EAN live over-the-air connection, in Nokia’s Stuttgart laboratory. There, all components of the LTE ground network were thoroughly tested and validated. The first live connection in the field was accomplished in a broadband video conference with both parties connected via the dedicated EAN LTE mobile network.

“The actual performance and quality of the in-flight datalink exceeds design expectations,” Leo Mondale, president of aviation for Inmarsat said in a statement.