For those of you like me waking up to an icy New Year landscape, this is a time of little activity on the IFE front. The generic aviation news feeds are ticking over and new technology seems to be in hibernation till the spring.
Of course it is a new decade, although it doesn’t feel like it. We have seen a steady ascendant in connectivity over the last year or two but really it is the first ten years of the millennium that saw the birth of broadband inflight connectivity for the masses. IFE is now inextricably woven with both satellite and ground network wireless communications. Yet when I entered this market in 1999 it was but a whisper, if that. On demand entertainment was beginning to enter its ascendancy but now AVOD is regarded as commonplace on major airlines.
I am wondering what the new decade will bring. This is clearly a dangerous game to play because in terms of new advances, nothing in IFE can ever be taken for granted. There are too many corporate casualties littering the roadside over the years to testify to that.
But here’s what I’m thinking: wireless and automation. Wireless is a given, now that we have the main contenders like Aircell, LiveTV, Row44, OnAir, AeroMobile and Panasonic in front. But automation… how would that come about and what role would it play in IFE? Well, the military sector is rapidly deploying robotic devices in various known regional conflicts. Advances in unmanned aerial vehicles willl largely become ubiquitous, and it is likely that advances in this sector will translate into advances in the civilian commercial one. It is possible that robotics and automation will start to migrate into consumer electronics and raise questions regarding development of IFE. If you marry wireless and automation then we are talking remote control. With remote control the need for bulky hardware in the cabin may decline. Remote control may of course never enter IFE, given the security hazards it poses. But if these could be effectively overcome, then automation and remote control removes the element of distance and matter.
The ‘cloud’ that is entering cyberspace terminology is likely to play a larger role in IFE. As wireless internet becomes ubiquitous in the cabin, and more and more of us are happy to store data not only on social networking sites, but in other virtual spaces, such as online photo sharing websites, or other such data banks or clouds, then the storing of content on large onboard servers may reduce over time.
Assessing the low hanging fruit is always a risky endeavour. In 1999 it seemed to me that IFE was a world apart from other industries, based as it was on entirely proprietary technologies. The internet has changed much of that, but not all. My suggestion is that simplicity and originality should continue to light the path of new technology and content. It would be good to see a continuance of open systems and processes and a stronger climate of sharing the benefits with partners.
The recent ideas and announcements of revenue sharing via brands, promotions and internet portals is a good start in this area, but there is certainly scope for more original ideas and marketing in the area of content. The rewards will likely be greater support and involvement from airline customers. Airlines would be wise to press the industry for stronger partnership and collaboration in this sector. After all, it is the airlines who know their customers best of all, and who should have the keenest instincts and senses for passenger preferences. Such collaboration is likely to produce the most innovative and profitable commercial ventures in content across broadband, wireless devices and handheld and inseat IFE. Some airlines are already proving the point, and they are the ones who tend to stand up on the podium at IFE events enlightening others. Let’s see more of this in this decade.
