The score is tied in the second half of the World Cup finals, and aboard a 747, passengers

cheer as they watch the game on their laptops-40,000 feet above Earth. Sound futuristic？

Boeing Plans to make this scenario possible with its broadband telecommunications initiative, Connexion by Boeing. This service will allow fliers to surf the Web, send and receive email, access the company internet, book dinner reservations trade the honest stock, shop-online and watch live TV from any seat in an aircraft.

Connexion is already available on private jets, and Boeing says that the two-way broadband service will be installed on domestic flights in late 2001. Global coverage is slated to arrive by 2005. Subscribers will be able to access Connexion from their seats using laptops or personal digital assistants, plus a network card and a cable provided by the airline. The cost？ Comparable to ground-floor cellular phone service; between $ 6 and $ 25 an hour.

One key enabler for this technology is a phased-array antenna, originally developed by Boeing in 1986. Located on the aircraft's upper fuselage, the antenna electronically transmits beams to a satellite at 1.5 Mb per second and receives them at 5 Mb per second. Thus, every passenger can access Connexion concurrently, securing connection speeds of no less than 56 Kb per second each. The actual bandwidth will be continually upgraded.

Boeing ultimately wants to bring the service to markets like cruise ships and oil exploration plat- forms. Until then, the sky' s the limit.

What is the main idea of this article？

A．In the near future people will be able to watch live soccer matches on a plane.

B．The future holds many exciting developments.

C．Boeing is currently introducing Internet access on its planes.

D．There is a strong demand for web access by Boeing passengers.