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Jun 6, 2006 10:52 am US/Eastern
WiFi Coming To The Friendly Skies
(CBS4)
Coming soon to an airplane near you, WiFi. Two companies have won a federal auction process, buying up air-to-ground airwaves.
AirCell and LiveTV, a subsidiary of JetBlue, hope to launch in-flight WiFi service by next year. The services would allow travelers to use email and the internet for about $10 a flight.
The plans still need approval from federal regulators, who want to be sure the service does not interfere with planes' navigational equipment.
AirCell plans to enter talks with all major airlines to provide the in-flight WiFi. It would allow people with WiFi-enabled laptops, BlackBerrys and other wireless devices to logon. The signals would travel through an antenna on the plane, to towers on the ground.
It is still unclear what this will mean for cell phone service. The technology will be there, though there is resistance among federal regulators to allow cell phone chatter on planes, mostly because it is likely to annoy fellow passengers.
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