Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Internet In Flight Starting To Take Off

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 19:17:50 -0500

Internet In Flight Starting To Take Off
Source: Columbian
Publication date: 2002-12-16
Arrival time: 2002-12-17

NEW YORK -- For many busy people, a long airplane flight is one of the last
places in life with guaranteed down time, away from the tentacles of e-mail
and requests from the office.

That's about to change.

In 2003, several international carriers will begin offering high- speed Internet
access via satellite. For now, it's basically a trial run so the airlines can
figure out how much people are willing to pay to get online with their own
laptops at 35,000 feet.

This toe-dipping comes as several companies stand ready to supercharge
airplanes with a range of communications upgrades, such as giving
passengers the means to send and receive e-mail and instant messages
from their seats.

"It becomes a really strong productivity tool that gives people their time
back," said Terrance Scott, a spokesman for Connexion by Boeing, which
is offering the satellite broadband service. "It keeps you in touch with things
at a time when you haven't been able to do that."

Connexion's service is expected to debut Jan. 15 on Lufthansa flights from
Frankfurt, Germany, to Washington-Dulles. Scandinavian Airlines System
(SAS), British Airways and Japan Airlines will try it next.

Lufthansa will offer the service for free for three months; British Airways
plans to charge about $30 per flight.

That price sounds about right to Rob Vollmer, 32, a principal in
Crosby-Vollmer International Communications, a Washington-based
public-relations firm.

Vollmer, who has flown 140,000 miles this year, does so much work by
e-mail that he sometimes feels compelled to surreptitiously check
messages during flights with a wireless Palm device, though it's prohibited.

"If I could do so legally for a fee, I'd jump at the opportunity," Vollmer said.
"Going six to eight hours without the ability to send or receive e-mail is a
form of torture," he said, offering proof: He once took an unnecessary flight
from London to India because he missed an e-mail that warned him a
meeting had been postponed.

How it works

Connexion's service requires installing two antennas on the plane, one to
transmit data to satellites and one to receive data. A server and routing
system inside the plane relay signals to and from plug-in ports at the seats
or wireless networking cards in passengers' laptops.

The service promises speeds comparable to cable modems, with downloads
up to 1 megabit per second. Even if everyone on board logged on at once,
Scott said, the data transfer rate would not be less than 56 kilobits per
second, comparable to dial-up.

Connexion eventually could use voice-over-Internet technology to let
passengers make phone calls safely, Scott said. Mobile phones are banned
in flight out of fear they can disrupt navigational systems and wreak havoc
with cellular networks on the ground.

Boeing won't disclose the cost of installing Connexion. But it is considered
far more expensive than simpler systems for planes that store data on a
server and periodically connect with ground networks rather than maintaining
a constant feed via satellite.

One such option, JetConnect, a Verizon Communications Inc. system that
already is available on some Continental and United flights, uses the same
network as Verizon's Airfones, those expensive handsets on seat backs.

For $5.99 per flight, travelers who hook their computers to JetConnect can
play games, peruse certain Web pages that get updated every 15 minutes,
and send and receive AOL, Yahoo and MSN instant messages. Verizon
plans to add e-mail in mid-2003.

Similarly, Tenzing Communications Inc., which is backed by Boeing rival
Airbus, can provide e-mail access and short text messaging. Cathay
Pacific, Varig and Virgin Atlantic are customers; Seattle- based Tenzing
expects to sign several more in 2003.

Publication date: 2002-12-16

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