A Realization of Integrated Satellite-Terrestrial Communication Networks for Aeronautical Services via Joint Radio Resource Management

Abstract

Despite air travel has not grown as predicted, air travel is still expected to rise to just less than doubling the current figure by 2030. This creates an urging need to develop more efficient Air Traffic Management (ATM) solutions. Around the globe, research and development initiatives have been launched to modernize the air traffic control infrastructures. These modernized infrastructures will be built around continuous information gathering, sharing and transferring of data between aircraft and air navigation service providers and airports ground infrastructure, which will be difficult for current aeronautical communications systems to handle. As a result, new communication infrastructures are required to manage future aeronautical communication traffic demand. This paper proposes an integrated aeronautical communication architecture consisting of four radio access technologies for communications between aircrafts and ground Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN). The design and implementation of a Joint Radio Resource Management (JRRM) framework to manage these radio resources are discussed. The design is verified by a proof-of-concept JRRM prototype which is developed for the management of radio resource between the Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) and the Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communication System (AeroMACS).