If ACARS is unavailable then the aircraft attempts to forward the data via the INMARSAT system.
No. Swift will only attempt to forward the data via any connection if the airline has subscribed.
The satellite recognised that no paid subscription was in force, so the request for further data transmission was rejected.
No. Details about the subscription
is located in the FMS on the plane.
Malaysia Airlines didn?t buy computer upgrade that could have given data on missing flight - The Washington Post
So Swift trying to contact the ground station cannot possibly explain the odd pings.
Edit: According to the article below the only ping that originated in the aircraft was the final "partial ping". All the other pings were initiated by the ground station.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/...800102412.html