Boeing is to lease space on a satellite above the
Atlantic Ocean, filling a coverage gap in its Connexion by Boeing
in-flight internet service.
The leasing agreement is for two transponders on the Intelsat
907 satellite, which is stationed above the Atlantic Ocean at 27.5
degrees west, the company said.
The Ku-band spot-beam coverage provided by the transponders
encompasses northern and Central Europe, Iceland and the eastern
part of Greenland and will be used by Connexion to service aircraft
flying between Europe and North America.
The service offers a broadband internet connection to passengers
on aircraft on which the system has been installed. Transmission
speeds vary with conditions but maximum capacity is 20Mbps
downstream to the aircraft and 1Mbps upstream from the
aircraft.
To date, two European airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways,
have run service trials. Both Lufthansa and Scandinavian Airline
Systems have signed definitive agreements to install the system on
long-haul jets.
Commercial service on both airlines is scheduled to begin in
early 2004. Two Japanese airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan
Airlines System have signed letters of intent to install the
system. Boeing has yet to announce definitive agreements with the
airlines.
The lease of transponders on Intelsat 907 comes shortly after
Boeing signed for space on Eutelsat's SESAT satellite at 36 degrees
east, which will provide coverage over Europe, and Space
Communications' Superbird-C satellite at 144 degrees East, which
will provide coverage of Asia and routes from Asia to Europe.
The latest announcement means the Connexion by Boeing network
now covers many of the major intercontinental airline routes in the
northern hemisphere.
In addition to adding coverage of other regions in the future,
the system will also be enhanced with the addition of backup
capacity, said Terrance Scott, a spokesman for Boeing.
Next year the service plans to make use of space on Loral's
Estrela do Sul spacecraft, which is scheduled for launch in early
2004, Scott said.
Martyn Williams writes for IDG News Service