Aerospace giant Boeing will announce deals later today between its airborne Internet service Connexion and three top airlines to launch high-speed in-flight Web surfing in the United States.
On Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that the three largest US carriers, AMR unit American Airlines, UAL unit United Airlines and Delta Air Lines were set to start limited in-service testing with Connexion.
Connexion would allow airline passengers to surf the Web and send email using satellites to transmit data between the air and the ground.
Boeing sees the in-flight Internet market growing to US$45 billion a year in the next decade and hopes to grab a 10 percent share, or US$4.5 billion in annual revenues.
In addition to the US deals cited, which could let Boeing wire up to 1,500 or so aircraft, Boeing is also close to a deal with German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa, the Wall Street Journal reported. Continental Airlines has also been in extensive discussions on Connexion, according to unidentified officials cited in the report.
Connexion rival Tenzing Communications, which offers cheaper-to-install, more modest technology, has several international customers putting the service on a portion of their fleets.
Tenzing has so far signed up Singapore Airlines, Britain's Virgin Atlantic Airways and Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways.
