IONA [Nasdaq: IONA], a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of integration software, and Connexion By Boeing, a business unit of Boeing [NYSE: BA] that provides communication services to aircraft, have announced that Boeing has selected IONA’s Orbix and Orbix/E software to power the delivery of high-speed Internet connectivity services to airline travelers.

IONA’s Orbix and Orbix/E software is used by Connexion by Boeing to control and monitor the satellite communication link that supports the delivery of mobile information services to airline passengers. On aircraft equipped with the broadband connectivity service, IONA’s Orbix/E is embedded in the airborne electronics to facilitate inter-process communication.

Through the Connexion By Boeing service, mobile travelers have broadband access to the Internet, e-mail, firewall-protected corporate intranets and audio and video entertainment content on select trans-Atlantic flights. Full-scale rollout of the service is expected in 2004.