Boeing installs 50Mbps eXConnect broadband on 737

Cathay Pacific has already promised that it would bring 50Mbps in-flight broadband to some of its fleet by 2012, but it looks like Boeing has beat it to the punch to become the first to actually take the service to the skies. The company has just announced the first certification and installation of Panasonic Avionics’ eXConnect in-flight internet service in one of its Boeing Business Jet 737 aircraft, which will initially be used by Panasonic itself for ongoing testing and demonstrations. That’s the same system that will be used by Cathay Pacific, and consists a fuselage-mounted antenna that communicates with a network of satellites to deliver speeds of up to 50Mbps, or about a hundred times faster than most competing in-flight WiFi. Unfortunately, there’s still no word on any further expansion to commercial aircraft, so Cathay Pacific may well still wind up being the first in that respect. Full press release is after the break. Continue reading Boeing installs 50Mbps eXConnect broadband on 737 Boeing installs 50Mbps eXConnect broadband on 737 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Oct 2010 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Posted by on October 21, 2010. Filed under News, Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry