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Aviation History
2000
2000 - 0713.PDF
Rockwell venture makes News EMMA KELLY/LONDON ROCKWELL COLLINS has formed a joint venture with media giant News Corporation in the latest stage of the avionics manufacturer's continuing move towards providing equipment and services for the passenger cabin. The partners' In Flight Net work (IFX) joint venture is designed to provide airline passen gers with the latest in-flight enter tainment (IFE) must-haves - global in-flight live television, Internet access and e-mail services - along with standard recorded video and audio programming. The joint venture will bring together Rockwell Collins' IFE hardware, satellite communica tion, avionics and systems integra tion expertise with News Corp's programming content, satellite and broadcasting experience. According to the partners, IFN will be die first global IFE network to offer live coverage of news, sports and entertainment, in addi tion to recorded audio/video pro gramming and broadband Internet access, with sen'ices to be available from late next year. The satellite- based, broadband digital commu nications network will support multiple video channels, with pro gramming tailored to the length of flight, destination and airline, says Rockwell Collins. IFN hopes to announce airline customers "in the next few months" and aims for flight trials from early 2001, with revenue ser vice before the end of that year, says John Cohn, Rockwell Internat ional senior vice-president market ing and communications. The joint venture will exploit Rockwell Collins' Integrated Information System (FS) develop ments, which are bringing PC-like computing capability to aircraft, linking aircraft and ground-based operations through technologies such as wireless gatelink, offering flightcrew, cabin crew, mainte nance and passenger applications. German charter airline Condor is conducting a year-long trial of PS on its Airbus A320s, but passenger IFE and communication sen'ices are not part of this. Rockwell Collins also has an FS agreement with Condor parent Lufthansa, however, which could be a candi date for passenger senices. Condor is testing PS on A320s for a year Television to go live on JetBlue JETBLUE AIRWAYS will J launch Sextant In-Flight Systems/Harris' LiveTV sendee on its first two Airbus A320s this month. The New York Kennedy- based airline will be the first carrier to introduce the joint venture's live broadcast satellite sendee and the first to offer live broadcast televi sion senice across its fleet. The airline plans to equip all of its fleet with LiveTV senice. The carrier has ordered 25 A320s, with options on 50 more. JetBlue, which started opera tions in mid-February, will offer passengers 22 channels of DirecTV programming, including sports, news, general entertain ment and children's programming, plus two channels for events such as sports and concerts. JetBlue passengers will be charged $5 to view the programming on seat- back-installed flat-screen moni tors, with armrest-installed individual controls. US start-up Legend Airlines plans to offer its passengers the LiveTV7senice, although that car rier's launch, originally scheduled for February, has been delayed by legal objections from other carriers and certification issues. Legend, which will also have 22 channels of programming, plus two for special events, will not charge passengers for LiveTV on its all-business class McDonnell Douglas DC-9 senices. Alaska Airlines also plans to equip a Boeing 737-400 to test the senice. Carriers and IFE suppliers will be watching JetBlue's experience with interest. Live broadcast satel lite sendees have failed to take off with airlines, despite Flughes- Avicom International (now Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems) first testing the service with Delta Air Lines in 1996. Issues over programme copyright, the business case and content control have hampered airline take-up. The World Airline En tertainment Association has estab lished two working groups in an attempt to resolve problems associ ated with airline introduction of live broadcast satellite service. One group is investigating hardware specifications, while the second is looking at content. 3 The joint venture will also make use of Rockwell Collins' experi ence in delivering live-broadcast satellite television to aircraft. Hughes-Avicom International, which Rockwell bought in 1997 to form Rockwell Collins Passenger Systems, pioneered the sendee in a one-aircraft trial with Delta Air Lines in 1996. The sendee never progressed with airlines, however, partly due to their requirement for a global sendee and licensing and business case issues. Although other companies are offering airlines live broadcast satellite senices in the USA, only the BAE Systems Canada (former ly Canadian Marconi)-led AirTV consortium has concrete plans for a global sendee for airlines, with a late 2002 launch. IFN's business case for airlines is based on adver tiser-supported sendees. IFN is part of Rockwell Collins' strategy to broaden its input on air craft, says Cohn. The first stage was the acquisition of Hughes- Avicom. News Corp's senior vice- president Jeff Wales will head the new company as chief executive. Rockwell Collins will provide the chief financial officer and pro gramme management team. Q NEWS IN BRIEF • BLUETOOTH POTENTIAL Bluetooth wireless technolo gy has been identified as having potential applications for in-flight entertainment. Bluetooth comprises a small transceiver allowing two-way communications between similarly equipped devices withina 10m (33ft) range. IFE applications could include wireless headsets, handsets and telephone devices, with possibilities including linking a passenger's notebook com puter to a Bluetooth-based telephone network, Internet service provider or other ter minals, says Jeff Schiffer, engineering manager at Bluetooth Special Interest Group member Intel. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 14 - 20 March 2000
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