Verizon is ready to start offering in-flight broadband service to airline passengers in 2007.
Verizon Airfone said Tuesday that last week's issuance of Federal Communications Commission rules on spectrum auctions opens the door to broadband WiFi service for passengers thousands of feet in the air.
"We are pleased with the FCC's efforts to promote the development of broadband services, and we urge the FCC to move as quickly as possible to auction new licenses in the 800 megahertz band," said Bill Pallone, president of Verizon Airfone. "There are many interested airlines and general aviation operators that share our commitment to this broadband vision."
The company said it had been conducting field trials since 2004 of service capable of ground-to-air peak speeds of 2.4 megabits per second, which can accommodate not only Web browsing and e-mail service but Voice over Internet Protocol telephony as well.
Verizon Airfone's WiFi technology is based on CDMA2000 1xEV-DO with special provisions for extended distances and Doppler compensation for high-speed aircraft. The system won't interfere with cockpit electronics.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
Related stories:
Sprint begins mobile WiMax network in Baltimore
(AP) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. opened its new wireless network to customers in Baltimore on Monday, offering Internet service for laptops for $45 per month. It's the first commercial network in the U.S. to use so-called WiMax technology for mobile customers.
Probing Question: What is Net neutrality?
"Internet Freedom, under attack. What do we do? Stand up, talk back," shouted a group calling themselves the Raging Grannies, outside the Dinkelspiel Auditorium at Stanford University. Inside, the Federal Communications Commission prepared to hold a public hearing on broadband network management practices, a topic most people might not expect to draw protesters.
Law professor warns the FCC about ceding too much control to large Internet providers
Net neutrality—the notion that everyone has a right to equal access to the Internet—should be a bedrock principle of life on the web, Larry Lessig, law professor and Internet advocate, told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday, as the FCC's five commissioners took the stage at Dinkelspiel Auditorium for a daylong public hearing.
Want FiOS from Your Cable Company? Motorola Can Help
Motorola on Monday unveiled a cable passive optical network (PON) solution intended to provide an upgrade path for cable-based broadband companies to shift to fiber.
Comcast Cuts Off Bandwidth Hogs
The telecom giant is warning customers to avoid excessive bandwidth consumption or risk being disconnected for up to a year.
Qualcomm Announces EVDO Rev B Chipset
Qualcomm announced on Monday that its new Mobile Station Modem MSM7850 chipset, which will support EVDO Revision B, will be available later this year.
Handsets tapping into MP3 market
Mobile music phones charging onto the music scene could put a dent into the MP3 player market, taking steam away from industry giants Apple and Microsoft. Already, many consumers are snapping up mobile phones that play digital music and act as regular handsets, thereby killing two birds with one stone, according to analysts.
The Web: Net neutrality discriminatory?
The idea of Net neutrality sounds fair in the abstract, but experts are telling UPI's The Web column the policy proposals emanating from Congress and the federal bureaucracy may actually be quite discriminatory.