jetBlue to Offer Onboard Wi-Fi

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JetBlue wins an air-ground wireless license
Fri Jun 2, 2006 12:50pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways Corp. won a wireless license to offer high-speed Internet and other communications services on commercial aircraft in a U.S. Federal Communications Commission auction that ended on Friday.

The company's subsidiary LiveTV LLC bid $7 million for a 1 megahertz wireless license, while a company with ties to AirCell Inc., which designs and sells airborne communications systems, won the 3 megahertz license with a bid of $31.3 million.

The winner of the larger license, AC BidCo LLC, also has ties to private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC.

The current user of the airwaves, Verizon Communications' Airfone unit, dropped out early in the auction that started on May 10. After the licenses are issued, Verizon must limit operations and then in May 2010 give up the airwaves.

While Verizon's telephone service aboard commercial planes has not done well because of the high cost to use the phones, there has been interest in offering high-speed Internet access in the air to business travelers.

The licenses will not mean travelers can soon use their cell phones in the air. The FCC and Federal Aviation Administration are still weighing whether to permit that.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

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Can't wait until they put Internet on board and they better do it. What they should do is announce they are going to offer Internet when they inaugurate JFK-IAD and make sure the Internet works on the 190's first so they can offer it on the business routes between BOS, JFK and IAD. The work on getting it to all of the planes.