HF ACARS
I know AF447 had VHF and SATCOM ACARS capability, but it sounds like A330's do or at least did have HF ACARS.
"The A330/A340 is equipped with a standardized ACARS system that can be used by any customer,
with allowance for each customer to easily introduce his own custom features to reflect his own needs.
These initial ACARS systems have been extended to offer worldwide coverage, even in mid-ocean and
sparsely inhabited areas, using the Inmarsat facilities and HF data link, and to cover not only company
communications but also ATC services, starting with predeparture and oceanic clearances.
On aircraft delivered since 1998, the ACARS unit has been replaced by the Air Traffic Services Unit
(ATSU), which is designed to also accommodate safety-related ATC functions using the Aeronautical
Telecommunications Network (ATN), offering the majority of ATC and other communication services now
using voice, and more importantly, offering profitable migration to the ATN. The ATSU is the first unit to
host software from a number of different vendors. The same ATSU is also used on the A320 family of aircraft."
http://www.davi.ws/avionics/TheAvion...ook_Cap_30.pdf
With Canaris which is ground station 17 for HF ACARS being about 1680nm away from the approximate crash site it might have provided a tertiary path for ACARS msgs.
In general HF ACARS seems sort of sporadically used in my area, but I have received some messages from as far as 4000nm. Has HF ACARS just gone out of fashion with the advent of SATCOM?