»»Soon In-flight Internet Use on American Carriers
Soon flyers will be able to use their laptops to surf the Web or to make calls with voice-over-Internet.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission began to auction off frequencies for in-flight Internet service. That will make possible to create wireless networks on American carriers.
Several carriers, including Lufthansa, SAS, Japan Airlines, and Singapore Airlines, already offer an in-flight, high-speed Internet service called Connexion, developed by Boeing for its jets. That is based on a technology which sends signals from planes to satellites which enable the signals to reach antennas and networks on the ground.
The difference is that with the F.C.C.’s licenses, the signals will be sent from planes directly to the ground.
The companies that will win the auction, then have to persuade the carriers to install their equipment.
The auction doesn’t involve conventional cellphones, which use other frequencies. (source: NYT)
