Boeing brings back in-flight broadband

Panasonic Avionics and Boeing have combined to certificate a high-speed broadband system for the BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) 737.  The fact that Boeing has acknowledged that perhaps it had previously made a mistake is to its credit.  In August 2006 it announced the axing of its much praised but loss making Connexion system, stating that "the market for this service has not materialized as had been expected."

As part of the installation agreement, Panasonic will use a privately owned BBJ for ongoing testing and validation, as well as for live demonstrations.  The system supports a wide range of passenger and crew applications including very high speed internet access to passengers anywhere in the world at speeds of up to 50 Mbps to the aircraft.  That is much in line with most speeds currently available, about 100 times the speed of the fastest internet currently available on commercial aircraft.

It remains to be seen if the system is carried over to an airline operated aircraft. Panasonic will be offering as a 'after market' add on.  www.boeing.com/commercial

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