The Phone service, TV, Internet present at Aircraft

Cathay Pacific Airways, a Hong Kong airline announced their plans to offer in-flight broadband service, mobile phone, and live television throughout their flight in early 2012.

The airline uses eXConnect system supplied by Panasonic Avionics who can deliver the bandwidth of
50Mbps from the satellite to the aircraft.

As quote from the PC Advisor, July 12,2010, the bandwidth will be divided up for passangers who use the internet services and applications such as flight crew's real-time flight data transmission to the supervisor on the ground.

Satellite relationship with the aircraft also support voice calls on a phone and data services as well as live television or pay-per-view programs.

Although Cathay Pacific is the first airline to announce such services, but they are not the first to present it to the passangers, Lufthansa will also deliver a similar service, even more quickly, ie in mid-2011.

Prior to this, Lufthansa's connexion by boeing is a costumer, in flight internet services was operated from 2001 untuil 2006. Unlike the Panasonic-backed service, connexion relies on ground towers to access the data.

Although more affordable, but the plane did not get services when it is far betond the reach of broadcast towers, for exemple over the oceans.

source : vivanews.com