Dubai 2011: Satcom1 is making satellite airtime billing easier

Satcom1 is promoting its recently-launched individual satellite airtime billing solution for charters, fractionals, airlines and business jet operators.
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Called Flight Billing, it has been developed to make passenger communications billing easier and more efficient for providers using Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband.

Traditionally, billing passengers for on-flight communication services has been an inefficient and labour-intensive procedure for charter and fleet operators, as it was necessary to distinguish which passengers should be charged for each service they had used in the previous month.

The new billing system also provides less risk of leaving providers with large communications charges.

Satcom1’s Flight Billing solution takes the inconvenience out of offering satellite services on aircraft as it automatically charges the usage on each flight to a specific customer.

It requires no hardware to be added to the aircraft and allows users to browse the internet, access e-mails, and send instant messages from their laptops, iPads, iPhones, or smartphones, just like they were connecting to the internet at a hotel or airport.

Satcom1 handles all billing and invoicing directly to the user without any action from the aircraft operator.

Users can choose from different options for gaining access and paying for data using a credit card, via a secure banking connection or vouchers provided by the aircraft operator.

Satcom1 will also launch a second individual billing solution next year. Pay Per User will be ideal for operators who want to bill usage to each individual user, no matter how many passengers are on the flight.