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While many airways are peeling back services in a desperate bid to save money, others are offering more services to win customers.  Such is the case with JetBlue, who won 1 MHz of spectrum for $7million, while AirCell of Louisville, Co paid a hefty $31million for 3 MHz of spectrum, both of which are pending FCC approval.  This spectrum could be used to provide in-flight telephone, Internet, or entertainment services.

Meanwhile, United Airlines has received FAA approval to start installing and testing wifi equipment on-board their airlines, in their quest to become the first domestic carrier to offer WiFi access on all of its flights.  They haven’t announced what they’re planning to charge for in-flight access, but other airlines that offer in-flight WiFi, like Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, and Japan Airlines, usually charge about thirty bucks a flight to get your WiFi on.

Not to be outdone, manufacturers Boeing and Intel have put their collective might together to offer Connexion, a business unit that already has 70 Wifi hotspots in place on 70 planes on Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Japan Airlines, ANA, Singapore Airlines and China Airlines. Austrian Airlines, Korean Air, El Al, Asiana and Etihad will soon add the service, the company said.

While WiFi is still considered a luxury item on airlines, and is still only available on a fraction of the total flights, airlines are running on tight budgets and the upward fuel prices are creating pressures for the airlines to create new revenue streams.  Certainly very few people will pay $30 for WiFi access for a short flight.  However, look for the airlines to adopt WiFi and sell it a la carte as they now sell their snacks.  Odds are the beverage service will won’t be free much longer either, but I digress!

All this makes me wonder.  Why is there a ban on cell phones when you can use WiFi?

Chris Leckness (3530 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.