Hispanic Enterprise - December 2007/January 2008 - (Page 26) BIZLIFE Several companies are attempting to bring back Internet connections for flyers. ground technology, but it was discontinued in 2006 because, again, it was too costly and by most accounts not very popular. You might wonder what happened to the frequencies that became available after Airfone left the scene. Colorado-based Aircell LLC snatched them up during a 2006 FCC auction and now plans to use them to offer in-flight highspeed Internet. The company is developing a broadband service that uses air-to-ground technology. It promises to offer a product for both commercial and business aviation that is less costly to operate and use than Connexion 26 by Boeing. Although the exact cost to users has not been announced, passengers will be able to use their own Wi-Fi enabled portable devices to surf the Web during flights in the continental U.S. American Airlines and Virgin America have signed on to become the first to try the service, which, according to Aircell, will be available in 2008. You might have noticed some airlines still have seat-back phones. The ones available now are satellite phones, and they remain the only option for travelers wanting to make calls during a flight. While some European airlines, most notably the Irish low- cost Ryanair, are planning to allow the use of cell phones on board airplanes soon (possibly next year), their American counterparts are focused on highspeed Internet connections. This is, at least in part, a regulatory issue. In March, the FCC reiterated its refusal to lift the ban on the use of cell phones on airplanes citing the possibility of interference with wireless communications on the ground. Beyond assuaging FCC concerns, a number of safety hurdles would have to be addressed with the FAA before the use of cell phones could be allowed during flights in the U.S. December/January 2008 HISPANIC ENTERPRISE
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