U.S. in-flight broadband has been a no-show, thanks largely to the high cost of retrofitting planes, and the low quality of most airlines' finances. American airlines and Aircell have announced they'll be the first to offer in-flight broadband in the United States, and they'll begin testing service early next year:Aircell insists the service, originally slated for a 2007 launch, is significantly lighter than Boeing's failed Connexion service. They also say that at $100,000 per plane (including wiring, core hardware and three antennas), it's less expensive to deploy.

All the truly interesting questions have yet to be answered with anything other than vague promises, including product pricing, planned speeds and whether users will be allowed to use in-flight VoIP service.