UK grants license for Connexion by Boeing

The British government has given the regulatory approval for Connexion by Boeing to provide airlines and passengers broadband in-flight access to the Internet, corporate intranets, email and other data services.

By authorising Boeing's use of a range of radio frequencies, the satellite network operator license granted by the United Kingdom's Radiocommunications Agency helps lay the foundation for three-month demonstrations of the Connexion by BoeingSM service by British Airways and Lufthansa on routes between Europe and the United States, which are scheduled for first quarter 2003.

"Having the regulatory framework in place is essential to meeting the requirement that we deliver to our customers a system that is service ready, first time, every time," said Scott Carson, president of Connexion by Boeing."We are pleased that the Radiocommunications Agency has granted us this authorisation. This is the latest milestone in a solid string of achievements that is generating momentum for our unique broadband service."

Connexion by Boeing is a mobile information services provider bringing high-speed Internet, email, intranet, data and entertainment connectivity to aircraft in flight.

The new license is the most recent regulatory achievement for Connexion by Boeing. Authorisations also have been received from similar agencies in Germany, Canada and the United States, laying the foundation for the beginning of commercial airline service in early 2003.

Connexion by Boeing currently is available to the executive services market in the United States, which includes operators of private and government aircraft. In June, British Airways announced plans for a three-month trial of Connexion by Boeing.The British Airways service demonstration will begin in February 2003, one month after the start of a similar demonstration by Lufthansa German Airlines.

Both service demos will involve trans-Atlantic flights between Europe and the United States. Earlier this week, Japan Airlines announced it had signed a Letter of Intent to equip 10 of its long-range jetliners with Connexion by Boeing on routes between Asia and Europe.

"The U.K. license is yet another step in making Connexion by Boeing a truly global service," said Robert Phillips, Connexion by Boeing's London-based director of Regulatory Affairs for Europe, the Arab States and Africa."I am very pleased that the Radiocommunications Agency has reacted in such a positive way to permit the introduction of innovative communications systems."

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