Connexion by Boeing Service Coverage Expands to the Americas Region

As the year 2006 begins, Connexion by Boeing’s aeronautical mobile-satellite service (AMSS) is poised to expand its availability on more of the world’s airlines, as well as its service coverage to more of the world’s regions, including the Americas. In addition, after conducting a series of successful trials aboard maritime vessels last year, the company has announced its intention to complement the commercial airline service by bringing Connexion by Boeing’s high-speed, real-time Internet capabilities to the maritime industry. 

Connexion by Boeing’s aeronautical broadband connectivity service, which operates on a secondary basis in the 14-14.5 GHz portion of the Ku band frequency spectrum, enables between 5 Megabits of data per second and 20 Mbps to be sent from the ground via geosynchronous earth-orbit satellites to antennas installed on an airplane’s fuselage, and up to 1 Mbps of data to be sent to the ground via the return, or back haul, link. Service in the passenger cabin is mostly provided by wireless hotspots compatible with the 802.11b standard, though some airlines also offer wired RJ-45 connections at the seatback.

The Ku band spectrum allocation, which made possible the launch of Connexion by Boeing’s AMSS service, was obtained with the strong support of an Inter-American proposal at the 2003 World Radiocommunications Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Since that time, a majority of countries in the Americas region have granted approvals that permit operation of Connexion by Boeing in their respective territories, with more approvals to come as the service expands its coverage area. 

The most common application of Connexion by Boeing allows passengers to use laptop or hand-held computing devices to send and receive e-mail, including attachments, or to view sites on the World Wide Web.  In addition, Connexion by Boeing has tested telemedicine applications using the system, and is discussing with airlines how the system can also be used to supply data needed for electronic flight-bag applications and to give the flight deck crew the real-time connectivity that is being provided to passengers in the cabin. The Connexion by Boeing aeronautical mobile-satellite service is installed on more than 110 commercial airliners and is available today on more than 180 daily flights connecting North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.

This month, the Boeing Company business unit added transponder capacity on Intelsat 705 and 706 satellites so that it can better cover the mid-Atlantic and Indian ocean regions in support of its expanding aeronautical service as well as its new maritime offering. Connexion by Boeing is currently utilizing transponder capacity from Estrela do Sul, AMC-4, AMC-6 and IA-6 to provide coverage over Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean region.

Later in 2006, Connexion by Boeing will expand its satellite coverage to South America. The extended coverage will most immediately benefit Lufthansa, which launched the Connexion by Boeing service on May 17, 2004, aboard flight 452 between Munich and Los Angeles. The German flag carrier currently offers advertised service on the northern portions of its routes connecting Germany with Brazil, Argentina and Chile, as well as for the entirety of its routes between Germany and North America, and on the route between Frankfurt and Caracas, Venezuela.

Several of the world’s airlines offer Connexion by Boeing service on routes leading into North America. Lufthansa flies into 14 U.S. and two Canadian destinations. Scandinavian flies six routes into the United States, followed by Korean Air, with five. All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines both connect New York with Tokyo, and ANA joins Korean Air in serving Los Angeles. Korean Air flies into Chicago, New York and Seattle, which also is linked to Seoul by Asiana Airlines. El Al and Singapore also are expanding their service, and Etihad Airways, based in the United Arab Emirates, debuted its Connexion by Boeing service in February 2006. Austrian Airlines has agreed to offer Connexion by Boeing service on certain long-haul routes beginning later this year, and Air China, the largest long-haul carrier in the People’s Republic of China, just announced an installation agreement as well. China Airlines, based in Taiwan, offers the service on flights linking Taipei with San Francisco. Singapore Airlines is offering Connexion by Boeing on a flight linking Singapore to New York via Frankfurt.

Connexion by Boeing’s maritime service offering will be operated on the same well-proven platform of leased satellite transponders and ground-based stations as the Connexion by Boeing aeronautical mobile satellite system network, and thus will benefit from the investment made in, and experience gained from, operating the aeronautical network. Aimed primarily at the cargo shipping industry, the Connexion by Boeing maritime solution will provide to maritime clients the full suite of high-speed broadband data capabilities currently offered to the aeronautical industry.

Jack Arends
Communications Specialist
Connexion by Boeing