Boeing Readies In-Flight TV Service   Live TV service for airline passengers will debut on select Singapore Airlines flights. Paul Kallender, IDG News Service Tuesday, May 17, 2005 The Connexion by Boeing in-flight Internet service is to shortly begin live TV programming on some Singapore Airlines flights. This is the first time such a service will be available to commercial airline passengers, according to an announcement by Connexion by Boeing this week. Liens Commerciaux The service will deliver BBC World, EuroNews, Eurosportnews, and, depending on flight origination, U.S., European, or Asian editions of CNBC, to suitably equipped planes and passengers with laptop PCs who have signed up for the Connexion service, according to the announcement. MSNBC programming will also be available for domestic flights in the U.S., Boeing says. The TV service will be expanded to other airlines later this year, the company says, without giving further details. Singapore Airlines plans to add TV programming to its Connexion service from June, it said earlier this year. The latest announcement is the first time Boeing has revealed the programming for Connexion's TV services. In-Flight Acces Connexion by Boeing uses satellites to provide high-speed data connections between aircraft and ground stations linked to the Internet. The connection speed is typically about 5 megabits per second downstream from the Internet to the aircraft and 1 mbps upstream from the aircraft to the Internet. So far the service has allowed access to e-mail, Web browsing, and corporate networks via a VPN (virtual private network), among other features. Pricing for the Internet service includes set rates for short, medium and long-haul flights, and for metered access. For example, the service costs $29.95 for the duration of a long-haul flight, or $9.95 for the first 30 minutes and $0.25 for each additional minute. Boeing did not say if there would be a premium for the TV service. The announcement comes a year after Connexion by Boeing went into commercial use when Lufthansa began offering the service on flights between Europe and the U.S. The airline later extended the service to other international routes. Connexion by Boeing has signed agreements with 11 airlines and has equipped more than 60 planes to provide the service on more than 100 routes daily, it says.