Boeing's Broadband Service Ready To Set Sail

Now that Boeing's Connexion broadband service is established with several airlines, the aircraft manufacturer is turning its attention to the high seas. It is teaming up with maritime transporter Teekay Shipping to test a sea-worthy broadband service.

The Connexion by Boeing service will feature 2.5 Mbps on the downlink and 256 Kbps on the uplink, the firms said Thursday in a joint announcement. The trial will get underway in August.

"This [trial] will allow users to access the Internet and firewall-protected corporate intranets, send outgoing e-mails or open large attachments from incoming e-mails and get the news, weather, or destination information," Boeing and Teekay said. The service will be tested initially over the North Atlantic.

Teekay transports more than 10 percent of the world's sea-born oil and has offices in 14 countries. Teekay employs more than 4,700 persons on sea-going and shore-based operations.

"The maritime community will have a universal selection of applications, [and] new networking solutions and services focused on improving fleet productivity and safety," said Sean Schwinn, Connexion by Boeing's vice president of strategy and business development in a statement. "The maritime solution leverages the existing satellite and ground-based network Connexion by Boeing has established."Boeing's Connexion unit has begun service on several commercial aircraft, using its Wi-Fi-based broadband service in aircraft cabins.