Fergie's Tech Blog

Boeing Kills 'Dreamliner' Wireless Network Plans

A Reuters newswire article, via ComputerWorld, reports that:

Boeing Co. said today that it will not use a wireless network to deliver in-flight entertainment on its 787 "Dreamliner" airplane because of problems involving plane weight and the technology.

A wireless network would add 200 pounds per plane, rather than the 50 pounds needed for a wired network. Boeing also could not get permission to use certain wireless frequencies from some countries, spokeswoman Lori Gunter said. That would make it difficult to deliver entertainment such as DVD-quality movies, which consume high amounts of bandwidth, she said.

Boeing would have worked on the weight problem, but decided against it because of the spectrum issue, she said. "Knowing that the regulatory issues were basically insurmountable, it just did not make sense to apply those resources there," Gunter said.

posted by Fergie @ 1/25/2007 11:15:00 AM