Aussie airline Qantas will be outfitting its shiny new Airbus 380s with laptop power, WiFi, USB and ethernet ports, and for the lucky folks who turn left after the door, 17" LCD TVs. Those without a laptop can access the internet via seat-back terminals. Qantas is being a little cagey on the reasons for the ethernet and USB ports, but we can make a guess that "viewing of content" means "plugging in an iPod".
An article in APCMag speculates that the services will be supplied by ONAIR, a company controlled by Airbus and SITA, which could mean a 432kbps Inmarsat SwiftBroadband connection being shared by all the passengers – slow as molasses. Still no mention, though, on whether Qantas is planning to implement in-flight phone use after its three month trial.
Inflight internet lives again [APCMag]
