Connexion by Boeing
Connexion by Boeing (CBB) was an in-flight online connectivity service from Boeing. This service allowed travellers to access a high-speed internet connection while on board a plane in flight through a wired Ethernet or a wireless 802.11 Wi-Fi connection. The infrastructure used a phased array antenna or a mechanically steered Ku-band antenna on the aircraft, leased satellite transponders, and ground stations. The service coverage included North America, North Atlantic, Europe, the Middle East, Northern Pacific, Australia, and Asia. While other providers have worked with in-flight internet, only Connexion by Boeing accomplished it for flights over water.
Ground stations were located in Vancouver, B.C., Japan, Russia, U.S. and Switzerland.
Connexion by Boeing was first launched as a service May 17 2004 with Lufthansa German Airlines. Later in 2004, ANA, Japan Airlines, and SAS signed on to the service. Other airlines which launched Connexion by Boeing service in 2005 include China Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Asiana Airlines, and Korean Air. In the later months of 2005, El-Al Israel Airlines and Etihad Airlines offered the service. In 2005 Connexion by Boeing launched the first in-flight live streaming TV service on an international route on Singapore Airlines, to be expanded to all current airlines in the first quarter of 2006. The service provided four channels of live TV to each aircraft, and available TV programming varied depending on geographical location.[1] Flying out of Germany, the service provided access to live streaming TV for CNBC (Europe), EurosportNews, BBC World and EuroNews. MSNBC was available for flights over North America. Microsoft's Windows Media technology was used to generate the multicast TV streams, and users had to have Windows Media Player installed to watch them.
Original prices varied from airline to airline, but were typically $9.95 for one hour of access, $14.95 for less than three hours of access, $19.95 for 3 to 6 hours of access, and $29.95 for unlimited access.[2] Various payment options were allowed: major credit cards, mobile phone, hotspot accounts and even frequent flyer miles. In an effort to get more passengers to use the service, new pricing was announced in January 2006.[3]
Boeing offered free service starting on October 2 2006 as part of its plan to discontinue the service on December 31 2006. [4]
The service had a live helpdesk chat feature available for customers who have troubles with their connections. Connexion sponsors the business travel blog, InFlightHQ.
Connexion by Boeing also extended its internet service to include the maritime market in 2005.[5] The first maritime vessels equipped with Connexion by Boeing service were provisioned in 2006.
In January 16 2006 Boeing also certified other companies such as Korean Air based in South Korea to carry out the Connexion by Boeing modification.[6]
In June 26 2006 it became public that Boeing was exploring selling or shutting down Connexion By Boeing, having failed to attract sufficient customers. [7] The lack of sufficient customers was speculated to be a direct result of the U.S. domestic carriers pulling from agreements with Connexion after 9/11. While the European market thrived on the service, no U.S. domestic carriers were able to justify the $500,000 per plane investment and the weight cost of the additional hardware.
On August 17 2006, Boeing announced that it would discontinue its Connexion service, stating that, "the market for this service has not materialized as had been expected."[8]
While the consumer service offered by CBB officially ended December 31 2006 at midnight, Connexion's government contracts for the same service to U.S. Government planes continue under the new name of Boeing Broadband Satcom Network (BBSN) and likely will for the next several years.[9]