NEW YORK (AP) - JetBlue will purchase Verizon Communications Inc.'s
in-flight calling service, the airline 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.
Airfone still provides service to about 2,400 private and government
aircraft under the Magnastar brand, said LiveTV spokesman Mike Moeller. That
service will be part of the acquisition. He did not provide the financial terms
of the 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.
LiveTV was using Airfone's network of 100 air-to-ground base stations for
the service, and will be taking over those stations at the end of the year as
part of the deal.
Moeller said LiveTV plans to keep the e-mail and messaging service free, but
is also looking to introduce a premium service that would provide more functions
and faster connections.
In January, Continental Airlines said it would start providing LiveTV's
e-mail and messaging service next year.
Another company, Aircell LLC, bought the largest swath of spectrum that
Airfone is vacating. 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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