Patent ID: 7893557

Claim:
A method for transmitting power and digital communication between a vehicle and a ground system having an established wireless communications link therebetween, said method comprising: communicatively coupling a broadband over a power line (BPL) interface unit to a power conductor of a power cable; communicatively coupling the BPL interface unit to a network via a network access point; electrically coupling the power conductor to a vehicle power receptacle associated with a vehicle; causing the vehicle to switch from power generated by the vehicle to power supplied via the vehicle power receptacle; establishing a BPL communication link between the vehicle and a ground system; switching an in-progress communication occurring between the ground system and the vehicle from the established wireless connection between the ground system and the vehicle to the BPL communication link; and transmitting network data between the network and the vehicle via the BPL communication link, and powering the vehicle simultaneously through the power conductor.