Patent Publication Number: US-11665517-B2

Title: Architecture for defining a private/priority network for communication on an aircraft

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/055,184 filed Nov. 13, 2020, which is a U.S. National Stage Entry of PCT/US2019/032093 filed May 14, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. application No. 62/671,239 filed May 14, 2018, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Example embodiments generally relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, relate to techniques for enabling the provision of a private or priority network over the top of an existing communication network in an aviation context. 
     BACKGROUND 
     High speed data communications and the devices that enable such communications have become ubiquitous in modern society. These devices make many users capable of maintaining nearly continuous connectivity to the Internet and other communication networks. Although these high speed data connections are available through telephone lines, cable modems or other such devices that have a physical wired connection, wireless connections have revolutionized our ability to stay connected without sacrificing mobility. 
     However, in spite of the familiarity that people have with remaining continuously connected to networks while on the ground, people have generally understood that easy and/or cheap connectivity would tend to stop once an aircraft is boarded. That said, aviation platforms are becoming more easily and cheaply connected to communication networks for the passengers and crew onboard. While the ability to stay connected in the air improves, and cost and bandwidth limitations are also reduced, it remains true that the most common and cost effective solutions currently available tend to have high latency problems. As such, passengers willing to deal with the expense and issues presented by aircraft communication capabilities are often limited to very specific communication modes that are supported by the rigid communication architecture provided on the aircraft. 
     As improvements are made to network infrastructures to enable better communications with in-flight receiving devices of various kinds, additional communication paradigms may become available beyond the familiar communication paradigm of enabling passengers on board the aircraft to receive service via a Wi-Fi router on board the aircraft. When such improvements are implemented, not only can user equipment be more readily connected to communication links off the aircraft, but devices on the aircraft itself can also have seamless connectivity to networks off the aircraft to the point where nearly every device on the aircraft (including those that are part of the aircraft and those that are only aboard for a single flight) can have connectivity. However, even when such access to connectivity becomes available, issues may still exist regarding how to prioritize access to the communication links. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES 
     The continuous advancement of wireless technologies offers new opportunities to provide wireless communication to devices located on an aircraft. In this regard, for example, a private or priority network may be defined over the top of an existing aviation-related communication network to ensure that the devices/members of the private or priority network have uninterrupted and un-delayed access available bandwidth by enabling some devices on the aircraft to have priority access to network resources. 
     In one example embodiment, an aviation-related communication network is provided. The aviation-related communication network includes a plurality of base stations configured to communicate with in-flight aircraft, a plurality of aviation-related communication network radios disposed on selected aircraft where the aviation-related communication network radios are configured to communicate with base stations of the aviation-related communication network via first communication links using a first communication standard, and a first wireless access point on each of the selected aircraft to define a first wireless local area network on each of the selected aircraft. At least some of the selected aircraft include a second wireless local area network that defines a priority access network. Devices of the priority access network may be provided with priority access to bandwidth supplied by the aviation-related communication network relative to devices of the first wireless local area network. 
     In another example embodiment, a priority access network is provided. The priority access network may be operable on an aircraft separate from, but using resources of, an aviation-related communication network. The aviation-related communication network may include a plurality of base stations configured to communicate with in-flight aircraft including the aircraft, and a plurality of aviation-related communication network radios disposed on selected aircraft including the aircraft. The aviation-related communication network radios may be configured to communicate with base stations of the aviation-related communication network via aviation-related communication network communication links using a first communication standard. The aviation-related communication network radios may further be configured to interface with devices forming a first wireless local area network on the aircraft bandwidth supplied by the aviation-related communication network. The priority access network may include a first wireless access point and a plurality of devices configured to define a second wireless local area network on the aircraft. The devices of the priority access network may have priority access to the bandwidth supplied by the aviation-related communication network relative to devices of the first wireless local area network. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
       Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a block diagram of an ATG network as one example of an aviation-related communication network in accordance with an example embodiment; 
         FIG.  2 A  illustrates a block diagram of various devices on aircraft connecting to the ATG network in accordance with an example embodiment; 
         FIG.  2 B  illustrates an alternative structure to that of  FIG.  2 A  in which the private network is directly coupled to the ATG radio; 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a functional block diagram of some components of a virtual private network being added to the ATG network in accordance with an example embodiment; and 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a block diagram of two different communication paradigms for the virtual private network in accordance with an example embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Some example embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all example embodiments are shown. Indeed, the examples described and pictured herein should not be construed as being limiting as to the scope, applicability or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Furthermore, as used herein, the term “or” is to be interpreted as a logical operator that results in true whenever one or more of its operands are true. As used herein, operable coupling should be understood to relate to direct or indirect connection that, in either case, enables functional interconnection of components that are operably coupled to each other. Additionally, when the term “data” is used, it should be appreciated that the data may in some cases include simply data or a particular type of data generated based on operation of algorithms and computational services, or, in some cases, the data may actually provide computations, results, algorithms and/or the like that are provided as services. 
     As used in herein, the term “module” is intended to include a computer-related entity, such as but not limited to hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software (i.e., hardware being configured in a particular way by software being executed thereon). For example, a module may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor (or processors), an object, an executable, a thread of execution, and/or a computer. By way of example, both an application running on a computing device and/or the computing device can be a module. One or more modules can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a module may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The modules may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets, such as data from one module interacting with another module in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal. Each respective module may perform one or more functions that will be described in greater detail herein. However, it should be appreciated that although this example is described in terms of separate modules corresponding to various functions performed, some examples may not necessarily utilize modular architectures for employment of the respective different functions. Thus, for example, code may be shared between different modules, or the processing circuitry itself may be configured to perform all of the functions described as being associated with the modules described herein. Furthermore, in the context of this disclosure, the term “module” should not be understood as a nonce word to identify any generic means for performing functionalities of the respective modules. Instead, the term “module” should be understood to be a modular component that is specifically configured in, or can be operably coupled to, the processing circuitry to modify the behavior and/or capability of the processing circuitry based on the hardware and/or software that is added to or otherwise operably coupled to the processing circuitry to configure the processing circuitry accordingly. 
     Some example embodiments described herein provide architectures and methods for improved aviation-related communication network (e.g., satellite network, air-to-ground (ATG) network, or hybrid network) wireless communication performance. In this regard, some example embodiments may provide the ability to define a priority access or private network that operates within the context of aviation-related network communication. Such a priority access or private network, which may act as a virtual network, could be used to provide access to certain resources on a particular platform independent of the other aviation-related communication network resources on the particular platform, or at least independent of the wireless access point that serves other passengers and equipment on the particular platform. Thus, for example, the priority access or private network may provide an architecture for creating a network that can provide aviation-related communication network access for critical onboard functions or equipment to create an internet-of-things (IOT) environment onboard the aircraft that has priority access to communications to and from the ground. However, it should be appreciated that the concepts described herein may also allow other uses for the private network as well. Thus, the descriptions herein relating to practicing example embodiments are not limiting to other contexts in which example embodiments may be applicable. 
       FIG.  1    illustrates a functional block diagram of an ATG network  100  that may employ an example embodiment. However, it should be appreciated that the ATG network  100  of  FIG.  1    is merely one example of an aviation-related communication network of an example embodiment. Thus, the ATG network  100  could be substituted with a satellite communication network or a hybrid network that includes ATG and satellite components, or any other aviation-related communication networks. As shown in  FIG.  1   , a first BS  102  and a second BS  104  may each be base stations of the ATG network  100 . The ATG network  100  may further include other BSs  106 , and each of the BSs may be in communication with the ATG network  100  via a gateway (GTW) device  110 . The ATG network  100  may further be in communication with a wide area network such as the Internet  120  or other communication networks. In some embodiments, the ATG network  100  may include or otherwise be coupled to a packet-switched core network. It should also be understood that the first BS  102 , the second BS  104  and any of the other BSs  106  may be either examples of base stations employing antennas configured to communicate via network frequencies and protocols defined for the ATG network  100  with ATG radio equipment provided on an aircraft  150 . The aircraft  150  may be in-flight and may move between coverage areas (defined in 3D space above the surface of the earth) that are associated with respective ones of the first BS  102 , the second BS  104  and other BSs  106 . These coverage areas may overlap such that continuous coverage can be defined and the aircraft  150  can sequentially communicate with various ones of the BSs as the aircraft  150  travels via handovers. In some cases, handovers of receivers on aircraft may be accomplished under the control of a network component such as network controller  160 . 
     Although the network controller  160  is shown as being operably coupled to the ATG network  100  directly in  FIG.  1   , it should be appreciated that the network controller  160  could be located anywhere in the ATG network  100 , and may even be a collection of distributed components in some cases. The network controller  160  that may include, for example, switching functionality. Thus, for example, the network controller  160  may be configured to handle routing calls to and from the aircraft  150  (or to communication equipment on the aircraft  150 ) and/or handle other data or communication transfers between the communication equipment on the aircraft  150  and the ATG network  100 . In some embodiments, the network controller  160  may function to provide a connection to landline trunks when the communication equipment on the aircraft  150  is involved in a call. In addition, the network controller  160  may be configured for controlling the forwarding of messages and/or data to and from communication equipment on the aircraft  150 , and may also control the forwarding of messages for the base stations. It should be noted that although the network controller  160  is shown in the system of  FIG.  1   , the network controller  160  is merely an exemplary network device and example embodiments are not limited to use in a network employing the network controller  160 . 
     The network controller  160  may be coupled to a data network, such as a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and/or a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the Internet  120 ) and may be directly or indirectly coupled to the data network. In turn, devices such as processing elements (e.g., personal computers, laptop computers, smartphones, server computers or the like) can be coupled to the communication equipment on the aircraft  150  via the Internet  120 . 
     Although not every element of every possible embodiment of the ATG network  100  is shown and described herein, it should be appreciated that the communication equipment on the aircraft  150  may be coupled to one or more of any of a number of different networks through the ATG network  100 . In this regard, the network(s) can be capable of supporting communication in accordance with any one or more of a number of first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), and/or future mobile communication protocols or the like. In some cases, the communication supported may employ communication links defined using unlicensed band frequencies such as 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz. Example embodiments may employ time division duplex (TDD), frequency division duplex (FDD), or any other suitable mechanisms for enabling two way communication (to and from the aircraft  150 ) within the system. Moreover, in some cases, this communication may be accomplished, and one or both of the links associated therewith may be formed, via narrow radio frequency beams that are formed or otherwise resolved by the antenna assemblies associated with the aircraft  150  and/or the base stations ( 102 ,  104 ,  106 ). As such, beamforming technology may be used to define one or both of the uplink to the aircraft  150  and the downlink from the aircraft  150 . 
     In some embodiments, one or more instances of a beamforming control module may be employed on wireless communication equipment at either or both of the network side or the aircraft side in example embodiments. Thus, in some embodiments, the beamforming control module may be implemented in a receiving station on the aircraft  150  (e.g., a passenger device or device associated with the aircraft&#39;s communication system (e.g., a Wi-Fi router)). In some embodiments, the beamforming control module may be implemented in the network controller  160  or at some other network-side entity. The beamforming control module may be configured to utilize location information (e.g., indicative of a relative location of the aircraft  150  from one of the base stations) to steer or form a narrow beam toward the target (e.g., the aircraft  150 ) from the transmitting entity (e.g., the first BS  102 ). The narrow beam may then reach the target (e.g., the aircraft  150 ) at an angle of arrival (in 3D space) determined by the relative location. Thereafter, continuous tracking of the aircraft  150  may occur and subsequent beam formation or steering may occur to ensure that the aircraft  150  continues to be capable of continuous and uninterrupted communication with assets on the ground via the ATG network  100 . 
     The system of  FIG.  1    may support communication (i.e., via the base stations ( 102 ,  104 ,  106 )) between the ATG network  100  and a plurality of aircraft, each of which may have a plurality of communication devices thereon.  FIG.  2 A  illustrates a block diagram of a communication paradigm associated with serving individual communication devices on multiple aircraft via the ATG network  100 . As shown in  FIG.  2 A , the ATG network  100  may communicate with multiple aircraft (e.g., aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 ) via the base stations of  FIG.  1   . As such, the antenna assembly on each of the base stations may form respective beams to serve each of the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 . In particular, the beams may be received at individual instances of an ATG radio  200  provided at each respective one of the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 . Thus, each of the ATG radios  200  may be directly connected to the ATG network  100  via a long distance, ATG network link  210  (which is an example of a first network or aviation-related communication network link more generally) associated with formation of the beams as described above. 
     Each of the ATG radios  200  is provisioned or otherwise configured to be able to communicate on the ATG network  100 . In some cases, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card may be provided in order to securely store subscriber identity information (e.g., an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number) and corresponding keys that enable identification and authentication of the ATG radio  200  as an authorized subscriber for the ATG network  100 . As such, the SIM card, which may be an integrated circuit specific to the ATG network  100 , may function as a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) that includes unique information for enabling the ATG radio  200  to operate on the ATG network  100 . Thus, the SIM card used by each of the ATG radios  200  may be referred to as an ATG SIM card, and is an example of an aviation-related communication network SIM card more generally. 
     In an example embodiment, the ATG radio  200  may be operably coupled to a cabin wireless access point (CWAP)  220  that is further configured to wirelessly communicate with various devices onboard the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152  via short range links  230 . The various devices may include, for example, crew devices  240  and passenger devices  250 . The crew devices  240  may include tablets, laptops, smartphones, etc., of the crew, but may also include avionics equipment or other aviation related equipment used by the crew to facilitate flight operations or otherwise supportive of the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152  and/or the mission or tasking assigned to the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 . The passenger devices  250  may include tablets, laptops, smartphones, etc., of the passengers, but may also include any other personal communication devices or communication devices that are associated with the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152  and accessible by or associated with the passengers. 
     In some examples, the ATG network link  210  may be a 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) (or 5G) link that operates in accordance with the LTE standard. Meanwhile, the short range links  230  may employ Wi-Fi or any other communication protocol that is suitable for handling communication on the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 . Thus, the CWAP  220  communicates via the short range links  230 , which use different communication protocols, frequencies and/or the like than the ATG network links  210  in order to avoid any interference therebetween. Each of the short range links  230  may be used to serve content to respective ones of the various devices based on the requests made by passengers or crew at the various devices. Accordingly, via the CWAP  220 , the bandwidth provided by the ATG network link  210  may be divided amongst the various devices on the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 . Some CWAP&#39;s  220  may be configured to handle over 100 users (e.g.,  150  to  200 ) at a time. Thus, it should be appreciated that individual user link bandwidths may be relatively limited during high use scenarios. 
     To the extent that individual ones of the passenger devices  250  or the crew devices  240  are engaged in applications or services that require prioritized bandwidth allocations, the CWAP  220  may employ bandwidth allocation protocols that prioritize such allocations. In some embodiments, other equipment may be tasked with such allocations or the prioritizations may be built into the protocols employed by various components of the system. However, in each case, bandwidth of the ATG network link  210  may be divided to serve each of the various devices by the CWAP  220  such that as the number of users increases (e.g., the number of passenger devices  250  plus crew devices  240 ), the average bandwidth per user decreases. For certain critical functions associated with avionics equipment or task/mission critical communications, sacrifices in available bandwidth due to the number of users may be undesirable at best, or may impact task/mission accomplishment. In order to provide bandwidth and/or quality of service guarantees for such equipment, some example embodiments may define a private network that may utilize resources of the ATG network  100  to improve service. Such a private network (or an example thereof) is shown on the third aircraft  152  in the example of  FIG.  2   . 
     In this regard, the crew devices  240  and/or passenger devices  250  may combine to form devices or members of a first network  252  (or first on-board network). The short range links  230  to these devices may operate in accordance with a common protocol to form a wireless local area network (WLAN). Thus, the first network  252  could alternatively be referred to as a first WLAN on-board the aircraft, and the first network  252  is served via the CWAP  220 . However, the CWAP  220  may also be configured to serve a second (private) network  260  (or second (private) WLAN) via private network short range links  262 . The private network short range links  262  may be formed using a similar (or the same) protocol used to form the first WLAN. However, the private network short range links  262  may, for example, be formed using a different frequency band. In this regard, for example, the first WLAN could employ one of 2.4, 3.6. 5 or 60 GHz bands, and the second (private) WLAN may employ a different one of such bands. 
     The devices of the second (private) network  260  may be avionics equipment or other on-board equipment in some cases that require priority access to network resources. However, such devices could be crew devices or passenger devices that are offered priority access for any reason in some cases as well. Regardless of the makeup of the devices that form the second (private) network, the total bandwidth that is provided via the ATG network link  210  to the CWAP  220  will be divided amongst the first network  252  and the second (private) network  260  with the private network receiving priority over any and all devices of the first network  252 . Thus, an IOT environment of high priority devices could be created and given priority access to network resources using the same CWAP that non-priority devices use on an aircraft. Although this example provides an architecture for using a single CWAP to create effectively two separate WLANs (one with priority access and one without), it is also possible to create such separate WLANs using separate CWAPs or even no additional CWAP as will be discussed in some examples that follow. In this regard, it is also possible for the second (private) network  260  to operate via private network short range links  262 ′ that originate at the ATG radio  200  instead of passing through the CWAP  220  or any such access point.  FIG.  2 B  illustrates such an example, in the example of  FIG.  2 B , the second (private) network  260  may be an LTE private network. Thus, there may be a separate LTE network on the plane that has priority access to the ATG network link  210  resources. As such, aircraft equipment (e.g., as an IOT, connected set of devices) may have direct or priority access to the ATG network links  210 . Priority access may be defined in accordance with LTE standards for the IOT connected devices without any connection through an access point other than the radio through which the connection to terrestrial networks is maintained.  FIG.  3    illustrates a block diagram of another architecture for supporting a private network in accordance with an example embodiment. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  3   , the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152  may each have substantially the same capabilities described above. However, in addition to devices that connect to the ATG network  100  via the ATG network links  210 , a private network link  300  may be provided to serve one or more private network radios  310  disposed on one or more of the aircraft (in this example, aircraft  151  and  152 ). The private network link  300  is an example of a priority access link more generally, and the private network radios  310  are examples of priority access radios. The private network radios  310  may utilize the same wireless network infrastructure as the ATG radios  200 . In other words, both the private network radios  310  and the ATG radios  200  may operate over the ATG network  100 . However, the private network radios  310  may be associated with an IOT-type grouping of devices on the aircraft  150  that have separately defined access mechanisms from those of the main or primary network path of the ATG network  100 . In this regard, the private network links  300  may conform to protocols associated with communication via the ATG network  100 , and may use essentially the same network services (e.g., 4G LTE standard communication links) as the ATG network links  210 . However, the private network links  300  may be formed using devices having a unique set of identities, codes, keys, and/or the like, which maintain the communications via the private network links  300  distinct from the ATG network links  210  even though the same network architecture is employed to support such links. As such, for example, each of the private network radios  310  may be provisioned or otherwise configured to be able to communicate on the ATG network  100  via links that are separate from the ATG network links  210 . In some cases, a private network SIM card may be provided in order to securely store subscriber identity information (e.g., IMSIs) and corresponding keys that enable identification and authentication of the private network radios  310  authorized subscribers for the ATG network  100 . As such, the private network SIM card, which may be an integrated circuit specific to the ATG network  100 , may function as the UICC that includes unique information for enabling the private network radios  310  to operate on the ATG network  100 . Thus, the private network SIM cards used by each of the private network radios  310  may be distinct and create a virtual network over the top of the existing network on the ATG network that operates using the ATG SIM cards. 
     In some cases, the virtual private network may include multiple devices on the aircraft  151  and  152 . In such cases, the devices could be wirelessly connected to the private network radios  310  via a private network wireless access point (WAP)  320 . The private network WAP  320  may operate similarly to the CWAP  220 , except that the private network WAP  320  may use different channels or frequencies to avoid any interference with the CWAP  220  to communicate with private network devices  330 . The private network devices  330  may include avionics equipment (e.g., engine monitoring equipment, weather reporting equipment, electronic flight data recording equipment, navigation equipment, etc.) or other task/mission critical devices for which it is either desirable or necessary to avoid reductions in bandwidth that could come from splitting bandwidth many ways. This group of avionics equipment devices may form an IOT-type group of devices that can have priority access to providing data to the ground, and/or have priority access to receiving data from the ground to enhance the safety, security or other critical capabilities of the avionics equipment. However, in some cases, private network subscribers could include passengers or crew that desire and/or are granted priority access to the ATG network  100  via the virtual private network (i.e., a priority access network). Thus, for example, devices associated with crew members, and/or devices associated with passengers that have earned, or been awarded, priority access may have access to the virtual private network via the private network radios  310  by being given credentials to access the ATG network  100  via the private network WAP  320 . Moreover, in some cases, different private network devices  330  may themselves be associated with classes that allow, in the case of emergency or other events, access to the ATG network  100  to be dynamically adjusted so that, for example, if damage or other activities that limit the bandwidth available for communication over the ATG network  100 , such available bandwidth is allocated to the highest priority classes in a dynamic fashion. In such an example, the private network WAP  320  may have an access code or login credentials that are only given to specific individuals with devices authorized to access the virtual private network according to their respective priority class. In some cases, a private network controller  340  may be in communication with the ATG network  100  to manage aspects of the virtual private network in parallel with the network controller  160 . The private network controller  340  may be configured, for example, to issue credentials to private network devices  330  (sometimes via the non-private side of the ATG network  100 ) to access the virtual private network by connecting to the private network WAP  320 . Thus, in the example of  FIG.  3   , user equipment or end user devices that access the virtual private network need not themselves have the private network SIM card. Instead, such devices can access the virtual private network formed by the private network radios  310  and the private network links  300  via the private network WAP  320 . Effectively, the private network radios  310  form a virtual private network or priority access network that uses the same resources as the ATG radios  200 , but can be operated separately from the ATG radios  200 . As such, for example, the virtual private network that is formed may be operated similar to a virtual mobile network operator (VMNO). 
     In the communication paradigm of the example of  FIG.  3   , a small number of devices (e.g., only the private network radios  310 ) may actually have the private network SIM card. Most devices that access the virtual private network may achieve access via Wi-Fi or another short range communication link from the private network WAP  320 . However, in other cases, it may be desirable for certain private network devices to be directly provisioned with private network SIM cards that permit access to the ATG network  100  for such devices without any requirement for connection to any WAP.  FIG.  4    illustrates one such example. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  4   , the examples of  FIGS.  2  and  3    may be practiced on one or more of the aircraft, while one or more of the aircraft (i.e., aircraft  152  in this example) employ at least one private network device  340  that has direct access to the virtual private network. Of note, although  FIG.  4    shows only one private network device  340  that has direct access to the virtual private network, it should be appreciated that any number of private network devices  340  having direct access to the virtual private network may be provided on any number of aircraft. Moreover, one or more of the aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152  could include one or more of the private network devices  340  that directly access the virtual private network with or without any instances of the CWAP  220  and/or the private network WAP  320  also being provided onboard. As noted above, the direct access to the virtual private network is enabled via the inclusion of a private network SIM card  350  being installed within the private network device  340 . The provision of the private network SIM card  350  to the private network device  340  essentially equips the private network device  340  to act as an instance of a private network radio  310 . The operator of the virtual private network may control issuance of the private network SIM card  350  to subscribers of the virtual private network or priority access network. 
     Similar to a VMNO, the operator of the virtual private network or priority access network may have an agreement with the operator of the ATG network  100  to receive bulk access to the ATG network  100 , but may service the customers of the virtual private network separate from the servicing of the other customers of the ATG network  100  (i.e., those with ATG SIM cards). In some examples, the aircraft  150 ,  151  or  152  may be served entirely by a single beam (except during handovers). In such examples, the single beam may have a link budget that is allocated between the ATG network links  210  and the private network links  300  for each respective aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 . Thus, for example, the virtual private network may have a guaranteed allocation of between 5% and 40% of the link budget. All users of the ATG network link  210  may split (by any suitable allocation method) the portion of the link budget associated with the beam that is provided for distribution via the CWAP  220 . As noted above, this could include a large number of “retail” users in the form of passenger and crew devices. Meanwhile, the private network links  300  may be expected to be split among a much smaller number of users. Thus, even in a case where 5% or 10% of the link budget is allocated to the private network links  300 , the amount of bandwidth guaranteed to each user on the virtual private network may not only be higher, but may also be consistent. 
     In some embodiments, separate beams may be associated with the ATG network links  210  and the private network links  300  for each respective aircraft  150 ,  151  and  152 . In these cases also, although the overall link budgets allocated to the respective links may be larger (due to lack of division of such budgets between the virtual private network and other users), it is still likely the case that the per user link budget for the ATG network links  210  can end up being smaller and variable to a larger degree than the individual allocations associated with the private network links  300 . Accordingly, the virtual private network may again be capable of providing quality of service and bandwidth guarantees that cannot otherwise be provided by the ATG network links  210 . High priority services may therefore advantageously be provided via the virtual private network. 
     In accordance with one example embodiment, an aviation-related communication network (e.g., an ATG network, a satellite network or a hybrid network) may be provided. The aviation-related communication network may include a plurality of base stations configured to communicate with in-flight aircraft, a plurality of aviation-related communication network radios disposed on selected aircraft where the aviation-related communication network radios are configured to communicate with base stations of the aviation-related communication network via aviation-related communication network (or first/primary/main network) communication links using a first communication standard, and a first wireless access point on each of the selected aircraft to define a first wireless local area network on each of the selected aircraft. At least some of the selected aircraft include a second wireless local area network that defines a priority access network. Devices of the priority access network may be provided with priority access to bandwidth supplied by the aviation-related communication network relative to devices of the first wireless local area network. 
     In some embodiments, the network described above may include additional, optional features, and/or the features described above may be modified or augmented. Some examples of modifications, optional features and augmentations are described below. It should be appreciated that the modifications, optional features and augmentations may each be added alone, or they may be added cumulatively in any desirable combination. For example, in some cases, the first wireless access point serves both the first wireless local area network and the priority access network. In some embodiments, a plurality of priority access network radios disposed on at least some of the selected aircraft. The priority access network radios are configured to communicate with the base stations of the aviation-related communication network via priority access network links that also use the first communication standard. In an example embodiment, the aviation-related communication network radios may be provisioned with aviation-related communication network SIM cards associated with a first network operator of the aviation-related communication network, and the priority access network radios may be provisioned with priority access network SIM cards associated with a second network operator to define a virtual private network or priority access network that uses resources of the aviation-related communication network. In some embodiments, the base stations may be configured to communicate with each of the selected aircraft via a respective instance of a focused beam having a defined bandwidth. In an example embodiment, a first portion of the defined bandwidth may be allocated to the aviation-related communication network communication links and a second portion of the defined bandwidth may be allocated to the priority access network links. In some cases, the first portion may be divided among passenger and/or crew devices, and the second portion may be divided among subscribers of the virtual private or priority access network. In an example embodiment, the defined bandwidth for a given aircraft may be associated with a corresponding aviation-related communication network communication link of the given aircraft. A second focused beam may have a second defined bandwidth to define a corresponding private or priority access network link for the given aircraft to serve subscribers of the priority access network. In some cases, a given aircraft includes at least one aviation-related communication network radio and at least one priority access network radio. The at least one aviation-related communication network radio may be operably coupled to a first wireless access point providing short range wireless connectivity to the aviation-related communication network for a plurality of passenger or crew devices. The at least one priority access network radio may be operably coupled to a second wireless access point providing short range wireless connectivity to the aviation-related communication network for a plurality of devices of subscribers of the priority access network. In an example embodiment, only the at least one priority access network radio may include the priority access network SIM card, and only the at least one aviation-related communication network radio may include the aviation-related communication network SIM card such that none of the passenger or crew devices and the devices of the subscribers of the priority access network include either aviation-related communication network SIM cards or priority access network SIM cards. The first and second wireless access points communicate using a second communication standard (e.g., Wi-Fi), which may be different than the first communication standard (e.g., 4G LTE). In some cases, a given aircraft may include at least one aviation-related communication network radio and a first priority access network radio. The at least one aviation-related communication network radio may be operably coupled to a first wireless access point providing short range wireless connectivity to the aviation-related communication network for a plurality of passenger or crew devices. The first priority access network radio may be operably coupled to a second wireless access point providing short range wireless connectivity to the ATG network for a plurality of devices of subscribers of the priority access network. At least one subscriber device of the priority access network may include a second priority access network radio. In an example embodiment, both the first priority access network radio and the second priority access network radio may include respective instances of the priority access network SIM card, and only the at least one aviation-related communication network radio may include the aviation-related communication network SIM card. In some cases, a given aircraft may include at least one aviation-related communication network radio and at least one priority access network device associated with a subscriber of the priority access network. The at least one aviation-related communication network radio may be operably coupled to a first wireless access point providing short range wireless connectivity to the aviation-related communication network for a plurality of passenger or crew devices. The at least one priority access network device may include a priority access network radio. 
     Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe exemplary embodiments in the context of certain exemplary combinations of elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. In cases where advantages, benefits or solutions to problems are described herein, it should be appreciated that such advantages, benefits and/or solutions may be applicable to some example embodiments, but not necessarily all example embodiments. Thus, any advantages, benefits or solutions described herein should not be thought of as being critical, required or essential to all embodiments or to that which is claimed herein. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.