Connexion by Boeing, RIP

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 20:01:35 -0400

How the mighty have fallen. Last week Boeing announced it was shutting down its Connexion by Boeing broadband-in-the-air program and was exiting the high-speed broadband communications connectivity market. Boeing said it would work with its customers to facilitate an orderly phase out of the Connexion by Boeing service. Those who used the service liked it. Trouble is, there weren't enough of them.

Boeing said it would take a $320 million charge, writing down the assets and paying termination fees to the customers. All Nippon Airlines, Japan Airlines, SAS, Singapore Airlines, and Lufthansa are among the airlines featuring the service. What should worry analysts who thought broadband in the sky was a good idea is not the fact that Boeing had been shopping the service for a while, but rather, that there were no takers.

Jim McNerney, Boeing's chairman, president, and CEO, said, "Over the last six years, we have invested substantial time, resources and technology in Connexion by Boeing. Regrettably, the market for this service has not materialized as had been expected. We believe this decision best balances the long-term interests of all parties with a stake in Connexion by Boeing".

For more on Boeing's decision:
-see this Boeing press release
-as well as Om Malik's comments

Trend: WiMax making steady progress in Europe

Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:01:36 -0400

WiMax is making steady progress in Europe. A few recent examples:

French ADSL operator the Iliad Group is acquiring Altitude Telecom. Altitude, which owns the only license granted by ARCEP (the French national telecommunications regulatory authority) to operate in the 3.5GHz band throughout France, has deployed an 802.16d-compliant BreezeMAX platform from Alvarion. The company has also deployed Cirpack's Class-5 switches to launch telephony services over WiMax for businesses. Iliad will acquire Altitude's residential and WiMax activities. Iliad | Altitude
T-Com, the fixed-line subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, has started field trials of a WiMax wireless broadband service in Swisttal and St. Augustin, two towns near Bonn, Germany. The field trial includes customers who are out of range of DSL service. The trial will end in March 2006. Story
The first commercial WiMax network will soon be deployed in Austria by WiMax Telecom using Alcatel gear; and UK telco Telebria said it will be offering WiMax high-speed broadband access to 50,000 homes in the Swale area of Kent. Report | Release

PLUS: Students and faculty at the Argentinian agricultural school of Maria del Carmen Villar use WiMax to video-conference with colleagues in San Francisco. Story

ALSO: Alcatel and the Indian government are joining in WiMax research. Story

FINALLY: Alvarion said it is the first vendor to ship a WiMax CPE which uses the new Intel WiMax chipset. Story

high speed broadband

Connexion by Boeing, RIP

Trend: WiMax making steady progress in Europe