System, device and method for switching air-to-ground antennas

A switching device for use with an air-to-ground communication unit of an aircraft, the switching device comprising:

• a first set of ports for connecting to at least one air-to-ground antenna mounted externally on the aircraft;
• a second set of ports for connecting to in-flight air-to-ground communication ports of the air-to-ground communication unit, the air-to-ground communication ports for air-to-ground communication with a ground network;
• a third set of ports for connecting to ground communication ports of the air-to-ground communication unit, the ground communication ports for terrestrial communication with the ground network and for accessing fixed base operator services through a wireless network;
• an interface to a computing device configured to receive inputs from at least one sensor for measuring an in-flight condition;
• and
• a switching mechanism for connecting the at least one air-to-ground antenna to one of the in-flight air-to-ground communication ports and the ground communication ports,
• wherein the computing device is configured to detect the in-flight condition and output a control signal indicative of the in-flight condition to the switching mechanism and the switching mechanism is configured to switch connectivity of the at least one air-to-ground antenna to the in-flight air-to-ground communication ports upon reception of the control signal.

A method for switching at least one air-to-ground antenna of an aircraft between in-flight air-to-ground communication and ground communication, the method comprising:

• detecting an in-flight condition through a sensor measurement and outputting a control signal indicative of the in-flight condition;
• receiving the control signal;
• communicatively connecting, based on the control signal, the at least one air-to-ground antenna to a first set of ports of an air-to-ground communication unit when the in-flight condition of the aircraft is met, the first set of ports for in-flight air-to-ground communication with a ground network;
• and
• communicatively connecting, based on the control signal, the at least one air-to-ground antenna to a second set of ports of the air-to-ground communication unit when the in-flight condition of the aircraft is not met, the second set of ports for terrestrial communication with the ground network and for accessing fixed base operator services through a wireless network.