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http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2006-06-28-inflight-wi-fi_x.htm?csp=26

HOW TWO WIRELESS SYSTEMS COMPARE

In-flight Internet access can be provided by ground-based or satellite-based technology:

Air-to-ground (ATG)

1. Wi-Fi users would send transmissions to the onboard device, which then beams signals to the cellular towers. It works primarily over land.

2. Ground towers provide Internet access through the regular cellular network.

Satellite

1. A signal from a passenger`s laptop travels through an onboard device that relays a signal to a satellite.

2. The signal is relayed from the satellite to a ground antenna. The signal is routed through a public ground network to provide Internet access.

By Roger Yu, USA TODAY

The once-furious race to offer in-flight Wi-Fi has slowed, and U.S. domestic travelers are still at least a year from surfing the Web at 35,000 feet.

Boeing said this week that it may sell or shut down its Connexion division, the only company now offering in-flight Wi-Fi. Ten foreign carriers buy the service, but no U.S. airlines do.

Verizon Airfone, which had been working with United Airlines to offer a competing service starting this year, has canceled its project.

Now, two new market entrants — AirCell and JetBlue — are stepping in to take their place. Colorado-based AirCell says it will introduce next year a Wi-Fi system for domestic airlines at low prices similar to Starbucks`. The coffee chain, through T-Mobile, charges $10 a day or $30 a month for its Wi-Fi system. JetBlue, the New York-based discount airline, is vague on its plans but says it may introduce an in-flight wireless service next year.

Q: Which company shows the most promise?

A: With the death of the Airfone-United partnership, all eyes are turning to AirCell. The company won the government auction in early June for most of the spectrum being abandoned by Airfone, which has been using it for soon-to-be-ditched seat-back telephones.

Jack Blumenstein, CEO of AirCell, says the company is optimistic that it can roll out its service in 2007. Because it has experience in offering satellite-based phones in corporate jets, AirCell has the technological know-how to pull off serving airlines, he says. The company has already been fielding calls from interested airlines, he says.

Q. How will AirCell`s service differ from that of Connexion?

A: AirCell is pursuing a cheaper method that could drive more cost-conscious airlines to buy into the service, says Henry Harteveldt of Forrester Research. It uses air-to-ground technology, linking ground cellular towers and an antenna on the aircraft. In Connexion`s satellite system, signals are beamed between satellites and airplanes. Its technology works over land or water, making it ideal for international flights.

With no need to rely on satellites, AirCell`s air-to-ground technology would be cheaper to install but limits the service to flights over land. AirCell`s Blumenstein says his company is focused now only on providing service on domestic flights.

Q: What is JetBlue planning?

A: JetBlue, which won a smaller part of the spectrum in the auction, may introduce a telecommunications service next year. Spokeswoman Jenny Dervin says it could be a broadband Internet service or just text messaging.

``We`d prefer to offer it for free,`` she says. JetBlue, through its LiveTV division, could also sell its Internet or messaging service to other airlines, she says.

Q: What`s going to happen to Boeing`s Connexion service?

A: Boeing, which has invested a lot of money since 2000, is talking with several companies in an effort to sell the division. Boeing says it may shut down the division if it can`t find a buyer.

John Warehand, a spokesman for Inmarsat, the leader in offering satellite Internet service to ships, says the company has had talks with Boeing about Connexion.

Richard Aboulafia, an analyst at the Teal Group, says Boeing will likely sell it at a fraction of what it has invested so far and is likely to find a bargain-hunting buyer.

Q. What about the 10 foreign airlines that offer Connexion?

A: Shutting down the service would anger them. Jennifer Urbaniak, a spokeswoman for Lufthansa, says the German carrier doesn`t expect to lose the service.

Says Urbaniak: ``We`re in close discussions with Connexion over it, and we`re going find a way to keep the service.``

Q: Why didn`t Connexion`s plans work out?

A: The financial collapse of the domestic airline business after the Sept. 11 terrorism was the first big setback. But even now, the service is too expensive for most airlines and for the average traveler.

Q: How expensive is it?

A: Airlines have to spend $500,000 or more to equip a plane for the service. For financially ailing U.S. carriers, that kind of expense is out of the question. At $27 for 24-hour use, the service draws mostly business-class customers. About 20 individuals use it on a typical Lufthansa flight, Urbaniak says.

Posted 6/28/2006 10:09 PM ET

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2006-06-28-inflight-wi-fi_x.htm?csp=26