Wireless system too heavy for Boeing 787

BOEING HAS dumped a plan to have a wireless inflight-entertainment system on its new 787 Dreamliner, because the system is too heavy.

According to the Seattle Times, Boeing thought that a wireless system would help it save weight and complexity by eliminating wires. However it appears that the gear that the airline had in mind to do the job was even heavier than a more traditional cable system.

Mike Sinnett, director of 787 systems said that Boeing will substitute a 50 pounds of wires for 200 pounds of wireless gear.

He said the move will also speed up the plane's development schedule.

Boeing said that there were performance problems with the technology and the lack of bandwidth spectrum in some parts of the world.

Wireless chipsets also didn't perform as expected and it was nearly impossible to getting regulatory approval around the globe to use the wireless frequencies. µ