New planning tool helps airlines budget for satellite capacity


(n.b. – This is an excerpt of a story I wrote for RGN; we’ve partnered to expand the distribution of some content so you’ll be seeing more like this in the future. Enjoy!)

How do you plan where to point the spot beams of a satellite? How do you estimate bandwidth consumption for any given aircraft, route or airline on a daily or annualized basis? And, most importantly, how do you combine these goals to properly predict where the planes will be and how they will be drawing data through the air as they fly?

A theoretical spot beam rendering layered with flight routes and showing the "hot" spot of usage
A theoretical spot beam rendering layered with flight routes and showing the “hot” spot of usage

For satellite operator SES the approach to answering these questions changed earlier this year. While the company has always had some automation the latest iteration takes that to a new level, combining satellite coverage and capacity with flight schedules and path data. The net result is a powerful planning tool which can help an individual airline in budgeting for a capacity purchase or even help the company in planning coverage of a new satellite system.

Read the rest of the story: New planning tool helps airlines budget for satellite capacity on Runway Girl.

Note: The image above is a hypothetical beam placement at an arbitrary orbital location and does not reflect SES’s satellite plans.

 

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Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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