Verizon Airfone Raises Stakes In Competition With Connexion by Boeing

United Airlines [NYSE: UAL] and Verizon Airfone are pairing up to offer a narrowband in-flight messaging and e-mail service that will heighten competition to the proposed Connexion by Boeing satellite broadband communication service.

The Chicago-based airline is the first U.S. commercial carrier to offer Verizon Airfone’s JetConnect service providing two-way e-mail capability on U.S. domestic flights. JetConnect is an in-flight e-mail, instant messaging and text messaging service that currently is the only provider of e-mail capabilities to passengers on U.S. commercial flights.

For more information on this service and its possible impact on Connexion by Boeing, see the June 30 issue of SATELLITE NEWS. For more info on subscribing to PBI Media’s satellite newsletters, check out our Web site at http://www.telecomweb.com/catalog.