Boeing and Lufthansa Technik have been cleared to test a wireless
local area network (WLAN) on commercial 747 flights. Part of the
Connexion by Boeing project, the tests will pave the way for passengers
to connect to the Internet in flight using their own Wi-Fi phones,
PDAs or laptops.
Lufthansa and British Airways conducted beta tests of a wired
Connexion by Boeing system earlier this year, and the system is
due for commercial rollout in early 2004. However, the increasing
popularity of Wi-Fi (802-11b) devices and peripherals-which can
communicate with a wireless hub over short distances-makes it
possible to re-equip airplanes for internet access without running
Ethernet lines to every seat, saving weight as well as maintenance
and installation costs.
Lufthansa Technik designed the WLAN installation and developed
the certification plan, with technical guidance by Boeing Commercial
Airplanes and Connexion by Boeing. Other Boeing tasks included
laboratory testing of personal electronic devices to ensure that
they would not interfere with aircraft systems or cause any health
problems, and Boeing's Connexion One flying laboratory has carried
an experimental WLAN for the past two years. So far, there is
no sign that wireless devices cause any problems with aircraft.
Wi-Fi is compatible with Connexion by Boeing transfer speeds.
The system can deliver high-speed internet service to more than
100 people simultaneously, and allows travelers to access virtual
private network (VPN) systems. The Boeing-owned onboard equipment,
including an antenna and fileservers, can be used with either
wired or wireless networks. It will be up to individual airlines
to decide which solution to adopt. However, with the rapid expansion
of 802.11b-now standard on a new generation of laptop computers
and featured by a growing number of personal digital assistant
(PDA) devices-it is likely that many airlines will skip the Ethernet-based
system and go directly to Wi-Fi.
