The MOWGLY System Architecture provides Service Providers with a communication network that supports multimedia services over Geostationary bent pipe satellites in Ku and Ka band. It is based on :

Hubs which provide the basic ground infrastructure required to handle broadband access services. A Hub manages a sub-network in a star configuration that provides mainly satellite resource management, equipment management, interface with the collective mobile Terminal and interface with the WAN functions.
The Hub communicates with a large number of Satellite Terminals by means of bent-pipe satellite. The forward link provides connectivity from the Hub to the Satellite Terminals. This forward link is based on world-wide DVB industry standard. DVB related standards specify also how a DVB broadcast carrier combines data from multiple sources into one high-speed transmission stream. The return link with its MF-TDMA access scheme provides a cost-effective solution for sharing the return bandwidth between the Satellite Terminals. The return link is based upon DVB-RCS standard.

Satellite Terminal: The onboard collective mobile terminal provides subscribers access to the network. Lets concentrate on airborne terminal. It is constituted of:

• Antenna and Antenna control unit: The Aircraft antenna is mounted on the fuselage. This sub-system is responsible to track the appropriate satellite depending the A/C position, convert received signal (Ku / Ka) in intermediate L band (LNB) compatible with the modem (demodulator), convert and amplify L band signal (BUC) received form the modem (modulator) into Ku/Ka band signal.
  

• Modem: The modem sub-system is in charge of converting the RF signal received from the antenna into a numeric signal and convert numeric signal in RF signal provided to the antenna. This modem supports avionics constrains in term of hardware / software and supports the constraints of mobility (Doppler effect…).
  

• Onboard gateway: Gateway manages Air / Ground communication and provides network acceleration service (caching …), manage access priority and QoS. Goal is also to provide passenger with a communication Gateway not requiring modifying user's laptop settings to access airborne services
  

• On-Board Network: This feature is provided thru an integrated network system on-board Airbus aircraft (Certified system). This system encompasses a wireless network (WiFi) covering the whole cabin that will be used to provide passenger's access to MOWGLY services (e.g. Internet access) and connection to IFE system to provide potential access thru this mean (wired access).

The Network Operation Centre: The authentication/accounting system will be hosted in the centralized Network Operating Centre (NOC) of the platform that will also provide monitoring and management services for all remote equipment.
It will be possible to have in real time the status of any device of the network, correlating the critical events in order to activate escalation procedures. The monitoring tools of the NOC will be also able to notify in real time any system failure and keep track of the performances of each system at any time.

The Service Centre: All services defined by MOWGLY will be available for users travelling on aircrafts, trains and ships using a common unique framework. Any technical solution used for the lower level implementation of the network will be transparent for the final users that will access these services using a dedicated application.