System and method for receiving broadcast content on a mobile platform during travel

A method for supporting broadband communications between a vehicle information system disposed aboard a passenger vehicle and a terrestrial content source via a preselected satellite communication system, comprising:

• establishing, by the vehicle information system, a bidirectional broadband data communication connection with the terrestrial content source via a first broadband data satellite link;
• and
• distributing, by the vehicle information system, selected viewing content received from the terrestrial content source throughout the vehicle information system via a switching system being segmented into a private switching system for communicating with said first broadband control system and a public switching system for communicating with a wireless access point,
• wherein the switching system prevents unauthorized wireless access to the private switching system by unauthorized persons inside or outside of the passenger vehicle.

A computer program product for supporting broadband communications between a vehicle information system disposed aboard a passenger vehicle and a terrestrial content source via a preselected satellite communication system, the computer program product being encoded on one or more non-transitory machine-readable storage media and comprising:

• instruction for establishing, by the vehicle information system, a bidirectional broadband data communication connection with the terrestrial content source via a first broadband data satellite link;
• and
• instruction for distributing, by the vehicle information system, selected viewing content received from the terrestrial content source throughout the vehicle information system via a switching system being segmented into a private switching system for communicating with said first broadband control system and a public switching system for communicating with a wireless access point,
• wherein the switching system prevents unauthorized wireless access to the private switching system by unauthorized persons inside or outside of the passenger vehicle.