Conexion By Boeing To Lease 14 Transponders On Loral’s Brazilian Satellite

Conexion by Boeing, the satellite-based aero-mobile Internet, broadband data and TV system being built by The Boeing Co. [BA], said it will lease 14 transponders on a Brazilian satellite in order to begin service to trans-Atlantic airlines around mid- to late 2002.

Conexion by Boeing said it will lease capacity on the Estrela do Sul 1 satellite, which is scheduled to be launched to the 63 degreesW slot in mid-2002. The Loral Skynet do Brasil subsidiary of Loral Space and Communications [LOR] will operate the satellite under a license issued by the Brazilian government last summer, and it will be part of the Loral Global Alliance.

Specifically, the company plans to lease 14 Ku-band transponders on Estrela do Sul 1, according to Terrrance Scott, the spokesman for commercial information systems in Boeing’s Space and Communications Group.

In addition, Space Systems/Loral, which is building the satellite for Loral Skynet do Brasil, will modify its original design to provide a higher quality of service to Conexion by Boeing and its airline customers. It will carry additional transponders and a new antenna, Scott said.

Conexion by Boeing said its service will be available for installation aboard commercial aircraft beginning next year. The company noted that it will have to be licensed by the FCC and European regulators. The system should be ready for service on North America/Europe routes by late 2002, it said.

Meanwhile, at the corporate level, Boeing established Conexion by Boeing as a new business unit of the company and named Scott Carson as its president, as well as being a senior vice president of Boeing. He has been executive vice president and chief financial officer of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes Group.