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Aircell to go Airborne on American Airlines

Aircell, which has operations in Louisville, will soon be getting its in-flight broadband service off the ground with its first airline customer, American Airlines.

American has installed the Aircell broadband system on its first plane and will be testing the technology and working to get Federal Aviation Administration certification for the service.

The carrier plans to begin offering the in-flight service for $12.95 on certain flights by midyear. Passengers can use the service with Wi-Fi-enabled laptops or devices.

"Customers have said they want to stay productive and have access to connectivity," said Doug Backelin, manager of in-flight products for American Airlines.

Connection speeds "are similar to wireless mobile broadband services on the ground," according to Aircell.

Fort Worth, Texas-based American plans to eventually install and test the technology this year on all of its 15 Boeing 767-200 airplanes for flights out of New York's Kennedy International Airport to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. If the service is successful, American could expand it to the rest of its domestic planes.

Internet phone calls will be blocked, and cellphone calls will continue to be federally prohibited in flight.

Aircell, which has headquarters for its wireless operation in Itasca, Ill., while maintaining operations in Louisville, in 2006 won an exclusive Federal Communications Commission license for $31.3 million, paving the way for it to offer in-flight Wi-Fi.

American's system follows JetBlue's test of in- flight instant-messaging and e-mail service, which is more limited than Aircell's broadband because it uses a smaller piece of spectrum. That's the same service Frontier Airlines plans to offer before the end of the year through LiveTV.

Meanwhile, Virgin America has announced plans to launch Aircell's broadband service. Alaska has announced plans to launch wireless broadband service using Row 44, a satellite- based system. United also has expressed interest in in-flight Internet service.

While Aircell's service is limited by its network of ground towers in the continental U.S., satellite-based systems can extend service internationally and over water. Satellite service is also more expensive.

Aircell has about 150 employees in Illinois and about 75 in Louisville, and plans to add 100 employees this year.

The company plans to eventually offer a variety of pricing plans for its in-flight Wi-Fi service. It is also considering partnering with a satellite company for international service.

 

Source:
http://www.denverpost.com/telecom/ci_8039068

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