NEW YORK (AP) - JetBlue will purchase the towers once used by Verizon
Communications Inc. for its now defunct in-flight calling service, a JetBlue
spokesman said Monday.
A Verizon unit, Airfone, operated a network of seat-back phones on several
commercial airlines, but shut down that business in 2006, after the spectrum it
used was reauctioned by the government. JetBlue's LiveTV in-flight entertainment
subsidiary was one of the winners of the auction.
JetBlue spokesman Sebastian White didn't provide the financial terms of
Monday's deal, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
JetBlue Airways Corp. started offering free Wi-Fi connectivity on one of its
planes in December. The service is limited to e-mail, instant messaging and some
services from Amazon.com.
Another company, Aircell LLC, bought the largest swath of spectrum that
Airfone vacated. American Airlines and Virgin America have signed on to use
Aircell to provide a broad range of Internet services, including Web surfing,
starting this year. Aircell has built its own network of air-to-ground towers.
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