The report discusses how private networks are ready to help the industry improve air-side operations and customer experience, increase throughput, and enable a more productive workforce using 4G and 5G technology.

The report outlines the key challenges for the aviation industry: turnaround delay, financial stability, high demand for maintenance, repair, and overhaul labour, customer experience, safety and security, and environmental sustainability.

Three real-life examples outlined in the report demonstrate how private networks can be deployed commercially to address these challenges through tested, realistic applications.

“Already by being able to digitalise the operations around the aircraft —enabled by our private cellular network—we have seen a significant increase in efficiency with a clear return on investment,” comments Hub One business unit manager for telecommunications Henri Tallon.

To address key growth barriers, the report recommends four use cases that provide immediate value with private networks as the enabler: connected assets, integrated real-time communication, digital load control, and remote data upload and offload.

Airports can see performance gains of 20-40% for operations with private 5G networks, the report said.

The report also estimates that each flight needs to offload between 500GB and 1TB of data related to sensors, direction, and entertainment, which is critical to providing reliable information for aircraft predictive mechanisms and enhancements.

“Through Ericsson Private 5G, the airport ecosystem can keep up with heightened data demand and increase operational efficiency without compromising safety and security. After years of testing, private 5G networks are ready to be deployed commercially at airports and within the broader aviation industry,” concluded Ericsson head of dedicated networks Thomas Norén.

This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 21 July 2022.