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March 22, 2004

Lufthansa About to Launch Wi-Fi in Air

By Glenn Fleishman

Lufthansa’s long-awaited launch of Connexion by Boeing service should premiere next month: This article quotes a Lufthansa spokesperson confirming that the first Wi-Fi-equipped plane offering broadband will be in the air. The article probably misreports the download speed as 20 Mbps. 20 Mbps is the highest possible download speed, but in all my interviews with Boeing and airlines, the highest deployed speed was intended to be 5 Mbps down. Systems can later be upgraded. It’s possible Lufthansa changed its mind, but this wasn’t an issue for them in testing.

The article also notes that passengers will be able to plug in via Ethernet. However, in testing and in early reports, Lufthansa and most other Connexion customers intended to put Ethernet jacks only in first or first and business classes while offering Wi-Fi throughout.

Lufthansa won’t have all of its 80 long-haul planes unwired until the end of 2005. Other airlines are expected to bring their Connexion service online this year, typically in fewer planes, and all of them only on their long-haul, high-passenger-count aircraft.

Connexion is now allowing you to sign up for service. You can set up an account without being charged or providing credit card information.

Posted by Glennf at March 22, 2004 12:52 PM

Categories: Air Travel

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Finally, good news we can all use. Lufthansa is rolling out Wi-Fi service in its airplanes, according to Glenn Fleishman... [Read More]

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