May 3, 2005 – THE fibreoptic and wireless lobbies would have us believe that copper cable is on its last legs in the cabin. But inventive Californian IFE system manufacturer Delta Beta reckons it’s too soon to write off plain old wiring.

Delta Beta has just finished integrating and testing new lightweight copper-based cable with its SCISE inflight entertainment hardware. “To our surprise,” says Delta Beta president Henry DeBey, “it was found that using the cable would yield a system lighter overall than one based on wireless technology.”

Delta Beta was introduced to Florida-based cable specialist Tensolite at last year’s WAEA show in Seattle. “We got some samples of their NETflight cable and after a preliminary evaluation we bought a quantity to make up and test several seat-to-seat harnesses,” says DeBey. “As part of the evaluation we worked out the total weight of cable needed to outfit a 350-seat aircraft. Then we compared the total weight of the resulting system with that of an equivalent wireless solution and found that the latter was actually heavier.”

While wireless systems save on cable weight, points out DeBey, they do require transmitters and receivers. “Using current technology, the weight of the transmitters and receivers needed to deliver films on demand is more than the weight of seat-to-seat cables made from NETflight.”

Integrated with Delta Beta’s SCISE, NETflight harnesses have proved capable of carrying a full range of digital signals, supporting video and audio-on-demand; phone, Internet, email and SMS; game controls; crew-to-passenger communications and flight-attendant call signals; and reading-light controls.

“We’re always looking for ways to cut weight, improve reliability and extend functionality,” says DeBey. “Our tests with NETflight suggest that we can expect substantial benefits in all these areas.”

NETflight’s high flexibility and diameter of less than 0.14in allow for a very tight bend radius of 0.7in. “This makes the harnesses particularly suitable for routing inside seat tracks and through moving seat structures,” says DeBey. “And because they are so small we can implement an IFE network with full cable redundancy, so that a broken cable or loose connector should never cause a system failure.”

Delta Beta continues to propose the use of wireless for connecting passenger laptops and other personal electronic devices to connectivity services. But for AVOD delivery to seats the company is pushing the use of NETflight-based harnesses. Apart from improved serviceability, says deBey, a wired solution offers greater protection against content piracy and other network security-related threats.

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