Boeing sets pricing for in-air Internet access

Computerworld - The Boeing Co. has set the pricing for its airline passenger high-speed Internet service at $29.95 for unlimited use on long-haul flights of six hours or more. And it will charge $19.95 for flights lasting between three and six hours. Analysts said the fee schedule would likely attract business travelers.
Boeing, based in Chicago, also said it would offer a metered pricing option for its Connexion by Boeing service starring at $9.95 for 30 minutes and 20 cents a minute thereafter.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG in Bonn is expected to launch the service this spring on flights from Germany to multiple international destinations.
Boeing has leased transponders on satellites that provide global coverage for the Connexion service, according to spokesman Terrance Scott. These satellites provide 20Mbit/sec. download speeds to the aircraft and 1Mbit/sec. upload speeds.
Passengers will be able to connect to the service from laptop or handheld computers over 802.11b Wi-Fi access points installed in the aircraft. Those access points will provide raw data rates of 11Mbit/sec., Scott said.
All of Connexion's airline customers, which include the Scandinavian Airlines System division of SAS AB, Japan Airlines System Corp., All Nippon Airways Ltd. and Singapore Airlines Ltd., will initially offer the service to passengers through Wi-Fi, with some carriers adding Ethernet connections to seats at a later date.
Alan Reiter, an analyst at Wireless Internet & Mobile Computing in Chevy Chase, Md., said he believes the service will be "a winner for airlines because a lot of business travelers will jump on this" rather than spend hours of downtime on a plane.
Chris Kozup, a Boston-based analyst at Meta Group Inc., concurred, saying his studies have shown that business users are more willing to pay for Internet service in environments where they are captive and have few choices for a connection to their e-mail and other Internet services.
Kozup said the cost of the Connexion service is minuscule compared with the price of a ticket in the front of the plane, where a first-class seat from the U.S. to London on the United Air Lines unit of UAL Corp. can run over $10,000.
Carl Oppedahl, a patent attorney at Oppedahl & Larson LLP in Dillon, Colo., said he would "gladly pay" the Connexion prices for an Internet connection but would like to see the service expanded to all flights, domestic as well as international.