Reasons this earns its place on the airframe
Each of these stands on its own. None of them depend on trusting the aircraft's own systems to tell the truth about themselves.
Carrier-agnostic connectivity, with automatic failover
The Conduit doesn't commit to one network. It evaluates signal across AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and 550+ partner networks through Hologram, and moves to the strongest available carrier automatically. A dead zone on one network isn't a dead zone for the aircraft.
Independent, tamper-evident flight records
Logs stream off the aircraft over LTE as the flight happens and land in storage the operator controls — not the flight controller's SD card, not the manufacturer's cloud. A record that's already off the airframe before the aircraft lands is a record nobody on-scene can edit.
Alternate command link — positioned in PACE, not in place of it
Link provides full MAVLink command-and-telemetry over LTE as the Alternate tier in a Primary/Alternate/Contingency/Emergency plan — a backup that engages when your RF datalink degrades, on a different carrier entirely. It is not sold as a replacement for your primary radio, and it doesn't behave like one.
Physical recovery, on its own battery and GPS
After a hard landing, an aircraft that's off the network is still findable. Onboard GPS reports last-known position and an 85 dB piezo buzzer sounds on command — both running off the Conduit's independent battery, unrelated to the airframe's own power state.
Open firmware, verifiable and updated over the air
The firmware running on the Conduit is downloadable and inspectable — you can confirm exactly what code is executing, not take a vendor's description of it on faith. Updates roll out over the same LTE link, so a fleet-wide fix doesn't mean shipping hardware back.
Data ownership, on terms you can put in a contract
Flight records and positional history belong to the operator, exportable in standard formats on request. Nothing about accessing your own fleet's history requires going back through SkyRelay support, and nothing is held hostage by a subscription lapse.
