StarHub, Boeing to Explore Sky Surfing.
Singapore's StarHub has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with Connexion by Boeing, a business unit of
The Boeing Company, for an associate service provider agreement
that will add the Connexion by Boeing real-time, high-speed
Internet service to StarHub's wireless broadband services
portfolio.
As part of the MOU, Connexion by Boeing and
StarHub will explore linking their respective networks,
providing StarHub account holders with a seamless and simplified
solution for accessing the full richness of the Internet when in
flight. Airline passengers who have a StarHub account will
simply have to enter their user ID and password to access the
Connexion by Boeing service, and they will subsequently receive
their billing for service access as an add-on to their existing
StarHub bill.
"StarHub customers will soon have the freedom to
surf on the Internet, connect with their friends and business
colleagues in flight through e-mail and Web SMS chats, and
retrieve critical information from their office network," says
Kyong Yu, head of Interactive Services at StarHub.
"This added convenience helps to ensure that our
customers stay continually in touch with the world as they
travel across it."
David Friedman, Connexion by Boeing's
vice-president of Marketing and Corporate Sales, adds: "With
this associate service provider agreement, the Connexion by
Boeing service becomes more accessible to potential customers on
commercial flights in and out of Singapore."
"Working together with StarHub, we are providing
business and leisure travellers with the seamless opportunity to
have affordable, high-speed Internet access in planes through
their local mobile services provider."
Connexion by Boeing has definitive service
agreements with Lufthansa, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System),
Japan Airlines and ANA (All-Nippon Airways), while Singapore
Airlines, China Airlines and Kingdom Holding Co. of Saudi Arabia
have announced plans to equip their long-haul aircraft with the
Connexion by Boeing service.
With commercial service scheduled to begin in
spring 2004, Connexion by Boeing will provide airline passengers
with high-speed Internet access, comparable to what they might
experience at home or in the office, using their own laptop or
hand-held devices connected either wirelessly or through a
standard high-speed Ethernet connection.
A worldwide network of geostationary satellites
and ground-based receiving stations relays data between aircraft
and the global information network, and an advanced-technology
antenna designed and built by Mitsubishi Electric Co. enables
aircraft to maintain high-quality connectivity, even at high
latitudes.
Connexion by Boeing has announced two initial
pricing plans, which will vary depending on flight length:
-
Flat Rate Pricing Option: (Unlimited access to
the Internet) US$29.95 for long-haul flights (more than six
hours); US$19.95 for medium-haul flights (between three and
six hours); and US$14.95 for flights of less than three hours.
-
Metered Pricing Option: 30-minute starter
package for US$9.95 with rates of US$0.25 per minute
thereafter.
