FCC grants Boeing license for in-flight broadband

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FCC grants Boeing license for in-flight broadband

WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday granted Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - news) a license to provide high-speed Internet service to airline passengers.

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FCC grants Boeing license for in-flight broadband

WASHINGTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday granted Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - news) a license to provide high-speed Internet service to airline passengers.

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This is the best news I've heard in a long time.

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This is the best news I've heard in a long time.

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Connexion One, the flying laboratory for the Connexion

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Connexion One, the flying laboratory for the Connexion

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Boeing's sky-high Net access takes off

Connect to the Internet or read the duty-free gift catalog? Aircraft manufacturer Boeing is gearing up to answer that question for business travelers.

Connexion by Boeing, the company's wireless technology subsidiary, is in the midst of rolling out its in-flight Internet service, which could lead to billions of dollars in additional annual revenue for the Bethesda, Md.-based manufacturer. Lufthansa German Airlines began trials earlier this year on a Frankfurt-U.S. flight. British Airways will begin to offer the service starting Feb. 18 on a London-New York (JFK) flight. Japan Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines System will begin service in 2004.

Eventually, Boeing hopes to retrofit 4,000 airplanes with servers, access points and antennas for in-flight Internet access, said Scott Carson, president of Connexion. In the future, planes will emerge from the factory with the necessary Internet-access equipment installed.

"We expect to sign one or more U.S. carriers by the end of the year," he said.