On The Airbands

I am receiving regular mail regarding Qantas satellite plans, embracing inflight phones, faxes, and ACARS capability. Readers writing to me are mainly interested in frequencies, and whether their scanners will be able to receive them.

The answer is “yes” though only if you own an AR-3000 scanning radio which has a range up to 2,036 MHz, or a radio with similar high end frequency coverage. Qantas will uplink to the satellite Space Segment, either ln Marsat or AMSC in the 1,500 MHz to 1,600 MHz (1. 6 GHz) band, while the satellites will downlink to Earth Stations in the 4 to 6 GHz band through ln Marsat or 11 to 14 GHz through AMSC. Equipment being utilised by Qantas onboard is Honeywell and Racal. It will effectively provide Qantas aircraft with worldwide communications, navigation and surveillance enhancements, cockpit voice links, future air traffic control datalinks,and passenger telephone voice and data links. The only negative side at the moment is cost, in the present economic climate. T he system costs $A600,000 to install on each aircraft. But Qantas expects to recoup money outlaid within five years through commissions on each passenger phone call, which will be charged at between $US8 and $US9 per minute.

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