Patent ID: 8233425
Filing Date: 2012-07-31
Classification: H04B,H04L,H04N,H04W

Abstract:
1. A communications system for an aircraft carrying at least some personnel having personal electronic devices (PEDs) for wireless data communications outside the aircraft, the communications system comprising: a ground-based communications network; at least one access point in the aircraft for providing a wireless local area network (WLAN) for data communications with the PEDs; an air-to-ground transceiver in the aircraft cooperating with said at least one access point for data communications with said ground-based communications network; and at least one data traffic controller for selectively allocating data communications channel capacity between the PEDs and the ground-based communications network based on a data communications channel capacity usage of the PEDs, with the data communications channel capacity usage corresponding to bandwidth of the data communications with the PEDs so that data communications does not exceed a predetermined portion of the data communications channel capacity for a given PED.