scope:

SCOPE OF WORK

This document is intended to provide guidance on the airworthiness certification process for electronic aircraft equipment installed or integrated on board an aircraft, featuring a wireless communication function to allow for exchange of information with other equipment installed or integrated on board the same aircraft. These wireless communication functions are part of the aircraft configuration and their proper functioning will need to be approved through airworthiness certification authorities. These systems are named Wireless On-board Avionics Network (WOBAN) systems throughout this document (see Table in Appendix A).

Wireless communications between intentionally transmitting portable electronic devices (T-PEDs), which are not part of the approved aircraft configuration, are already covered by existing standards (e.g. ED-130A [7], DO-363 [17]) and are outside the scope of this specification.

Similarly, wireless communication systems such as those used for air-to-ground, air-to-air and air-to-satellite communication and navigation purposes are also outside the scope of this specification.

WOBAN systems may use globally available radio frequency spectrum resources such as the global frequency allocations for Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) applications. These frequency bands are often made available by telecom regulatory authorities on the basis of license exemption or a general authorization for use (see paragraph B.2.2 in Appendix B).

WOBAN systems may also be designed for use in a particular aeronautical spectrum allocation which is dedicated for the purpose described above (for example, the frequency allocation in the frequency band 4 200 - 4 400 MHz). WOBAN systems that operate in this band are also referred to as Wireless Avionics Intra-Communication (WAIC) systems [48].

This process specification is applicable to all on-board wireless systems that fulfill the above definition, i.e. all WOBAN systems.

The proposed requirements as well as the process and means to demonstrate compliance of a particular system implementation to these requirements are described throughout the remainder of this document. This specification hence provides guidance to WOBAN Component Developers, Application Developers, WOBAN System Integrators as well as the Certification Applicants that are seeking airworthiness approval for their products. This guidance includes a description of the proposed activities that should be performed and the supporting information that should be generated. It is also intended to assist the airworthiness certification authorities in addressing the certification aspects of WOBAN systems.

Whenever reference to other guidance material, such as EUROCAE ED or RTCA DO documents, is made throughout this Process Specification, unless otherwise stated, always the latest revision of that document shall apply.