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EMS Sky Connect, which offers a range of satellite-based tracking and telephone systems for helicopter, fixed-wing, ground-based and marine applications, announced a new satellite-based tracking and voice system featuring Polycom wireless telephone solutions.

 

The Polycom KIRK wireless telephone systems are based on the digital enhanced cordless telecommunications (DECT (News - Alert)) standard.

 

According to Iain Ronis, director of communications for EMS Sky Connect, a division of EMS Technologies, owners of cabin-class aircraft have high expectations in terms of quality and aesthetics.

 

Aircraft such as the Gulfstream G-IV jet can cost millions of dollars to outfit with custom interiors, and for that class of customer, expectations are high, Ronis added.

 

“Most commercially available handsets don’t have the quality, aesthetics or ease-of-use that our market requires,” said Ronis. “Then we tested the Polycom (News - Alert) KIRK handset, and that was it.”

 

Polycom’s KIRK 5020 handset ideal for Sky Connect’s wireless Fort product line, EMS Sky Connect said. Fort in-flight phone systems are designed for communications ranging from voice conversations to checking e-mail.

 

“There is an undeniable market need for an affordable and feature-rich flight phone,” said Ronis. “With the Polycom KIRK 5020 handset at its heart, the Fort system meets that need. The system lets passengers move around the cabin while still using the phone, and that adds an important level of convenience.”

 

The DECT-based KWS300 offers greater flexibility. With just one base station, the company can support up to four lines, reducing installation costs, said company officials.

The KIRK 5020 handset also stands out because of Polycom’s noise cancellation technology. According to Ronis, the sound footprint of an aircraft represents a lot of challenges. Even in a cabin-class aircraft that is quiet by most people’s standards, there is ambient noise. Polycom reduces this noise to minimum.

 

Polycom’s audio clarity is essential not just for those onboard. According to Ronis, most of the complaints about a noise over a phone connection tend to focus on what the person on the ground hears. “We’ve never had any complaints about audio quality of the Polycom handsets,” Ronis added. “These have been among the most reliable phones we’ve ever sold.”

 

Sky Connect’s solutions tap into the Iridium (News - Alert) global satellite communications network -- the only network offering coverage of the entire Earth.

 

The Fort system is distributed through companies that specialize in furnishing aircraft interiors. The company also has placed Fort units on passenger jet aircraft so crew members can communicate with corporate offices and other destinations without tying up cockpit communication channels.

 

Sky Connect is also planning to outfit first-class cabins with the wireless systems, according to company officials. The company recently secured Federal Aviation Administration certification for the Fort system in Gulfstream G-IV class aircraft.

 

In October, Sky Connect announced Forté AirMail service that enables owners and pilots of business aircraft to easily access e-mail via their BlackBerry (News - Alert) smartphones, iPhones and other handheld devices, TMCnet reported.

 

Forté AirMail also uses the Iridium network to reliably provide e-mail access to any WiFi (News - Alert)-enabled smartphone or PDA in Exhibit 4489, said company officials.