This is so exciting, however, there is not mention of power for = travelers laptops. I really hope that the services come bundled with power capabilities. -----Original Message----- From: The Airline List [mailto:AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of = Roger James Sent: Monday, December 16, 2002 11:33 AM To: AIRLINE@LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU Subject: High-speed Internet access coming soon at 35,000 feet High-speed Internet access coming soon at 35,000 feet NEW YORK (AP) =3D97 For many busy people, a long airplane flight is one = of the=3D =3D20 last places in life with guaranteed down time, away from = the tentacles of=3D20 e-mail and requests from the office. That's about to change. In 2003,=3D20 several international carriers will begin = offering high-speed Internet=3D20 access via satellite. For now, it's basically a = trial run so the airlines=3D20 can figure out how much people are willing to = pay to get online with their=3D =3D20 own laptops at 35,000 feet. This = toe-dipping comes as several companies=3D20 stand ready to supercharge airplanes = with a range of communications=3D20 upgrades, such as giving passengers the = means to send and receive e-mail=3D20 and instant messages from their seats. "It becomes a really strong=3D20 productivity tool that gives people their = time back," said Terrance Scott,=3D =3D20 a spokesman for Connexion by = Boeing, which is offering the satellite=3D20 broadband service. "It keeps you in touch = with things at a time when you=3D20 haven't been able to do that." Connexion's service is expected to debut Jan. 15 on Lufthansa flights = from=3D =3D20 Frankfurt, Germany, to Washington-Dulles. Scandanavian Airlines System=3D20 (SAS), British Airways and Japan Airlines will try it next. Lufthansa will=3D =3D20 offer the service for free for three months; = British Airways plans to=3D20 charge about $30 per flight. That price sounds = about right to Rob Vollmer,=3D =3D20 32, a principal in Crosby-Vollmer = International Communications, a=3D20 Washington-based public-relations firm. Vollmer, = who has flown 140,000=3D20 miles this year, does so much work by e-mail that = he sometimes feels=3D20 compelled to surreptitiously check messages during flights with a wireless=3D =3D20 Palm device, though it's prohibited. = "If I could do so legally for a fee,=3D =3D20 I'd jump at the opportunity," = Vollmer said. "Going six to eight hours=3D20 without the ability to send or = receive e-mail is a form of torture," he=3D20 said, offering proof: He once took = an unnecessary flight from London to=3D20 India because he missed an e-mail = that warned him a meeting had been=3D20 postponed. Connexion's service requires installing two antennas on the plane, one = to=3D20 transmit data to satellites and one to receive data. A server and = routing=3D20 system inside the plane relay signals to and from plug-in ports at = the=3D20 seats or wireless networking cards in passengers' laptops. The = service=3D20 promises speeds comparable to cable modems, with downloads up to 1 = megabit=3D =3D20 per second. Even if everyone on board logged on at once, Scott = said, the=3D20 data transfer rate would not be less than 56 kilobits per = second,=3D20 comparable to dial-up. Connexion eventually could use = voice-over-Internet=3D =3D20 technology to let passengers make phone calls safely, Scott said. Mobile=3D20 phones are banned in flight out of fear they can disrupt navigational=3D20 systems and wreak havoc with cellular networks on the ground. Boeing won't=3D =3D20 disclose the cost of installing = Connexion. But it is considered far more=3D20 expensive than simpler systems for planes = that store data on a server and=3D20 periodically connect with ground = networks rather than maintaining a=3D20 constant feed via satellite. One such = option, JetConnect, a Verizon=3D20 Communications system that already is = available on some Continental and=3D20 United flights, uses the same network as = Verizon's Airfones, those=3D20 expensive handsets on seat backs. For $5.99 per flight, travelers who hook their computers to JetConnect = can=3D =3D20 play games, peruse certain Web pages that get updated every 15 = minutes, and=3D =3D20 send and receive AOL, Yahoo and MSN instant messages. = Verizon plans to add=3D =3D20 e-mail in mid-2003. Similarly, Tenzing Communications, = which is backed by=3D =3D20 Boeing rival Airbus, can provide e-mail access and = short text messaging.=3D20 Cathay Pacific, Varig and Virgin Atlantic are customers; Seattle-based=3D20 Tenzing expects to sign several more in 2003. = Several airlines, notably=3D20 American, Delta and United, said in 2001 that = they would buy Connexion's=3D20 service, but those plans evaporated after the = Sept. 11 terrorist attacks=3D20 when mere survivability became paramount for carriers. Now, some carriers are showing renewed interest in Internet services = in=3D20 hopes they can generate incremental revenue, improve customer loyalty = and=3D20 provide new perks to offer in first and business class, said Rob = Brookler,=3D =3D20 spokesman for the World Airline Entertainment Association. = Indeed, several=3D =3D20 frequent fliers seem eager to sign up. Avi Steinlauf, = a vice president at=3D =3D20 Edmunds.com, an autos Web site, said he'd "easily = pay up to $50 for=3D20 broadband access on a cross-country flight." Robert = Brooker, head of=3D20 ICLUBcentral, a Cambridge, Mass.-based software company, = said $20 an hour=3D20 "seems like the right price point." Still, that sentiment might not be widespread. Tenzing is testing = real-time=3D =3D20 satellite Internet connections but expects the market to lie in corporate=3D20 jets rather than commercial aircraft, said Peter Lemme, Tenzing's chief=3D20 technical officer. Low-cost carrier JetBlue could = offer Internet access=3D20 relatively easily by adapting equipment it already = uses to show live cable=3D =3D20 TV on flights via satellite. But JetBlue = isn't convinced the Web would be=3D20 heavily used. "People are much keener = to watch TV Land than draft=3D20 proposals or write e-mails," JetBlue = spokesman Gareth Edmondson-Jones said.=3D =3D20 "It's always been very politically = correct to say, 'Oh, I do all this work=3D =3D20 on all the plane,' but is that = out of boredom? Wouldn't you rather have a=3D20 beer and watch ESPN?" The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************