IN-FLIGHT PASTIMES MADE IN ROANOKE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 1, 1993                   TAG: 9304010087
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
IN-FLIGHT PASTIMES MADE IN ROANOKE
FiberCom Inc., a Roanoke supplier of optical-fiber network communication systems, said Wednesday it has won a $5.8 million subcontract for a component in computerized entertainment systems for Boeing 777 jets.
A total of 161 telecommunications units assembled in Roanoke will be installed on 34 jets scheduled for delivery to United Airlines by late 1994.
If the project is successful with the British contractor, GEC Marconi Inflight Systems, FiberCom is in line to gain the largest subcontracts in its 11-year history from that company and others, said Selby Wellman, FiberCom's sales and marketing vice president.
The entertainment system allows passengers to communicate with other travelers on the same plane and eventually with their offices and homes, Wellman said.
GEC Marconi is developing a system with a menu of up to eight movies, use of a personal computer and several video games on a terminal at the passenger's seat. Telephone handsets in the personal control unit will enable the passenger to communicate with others, he said. Marconi is the first company to combine all of these features in a single system, Wellman said.
Although the first contract is to equip 34 planes, Marconi is projecting that the entertainment system will be used by 5,000 jets by 2000.
That could bring millions of dollars in new orders "if we maintain our leadership position," Wellman said. He expects a follow-up order from Marconi of about the same size as the new subcontract in another six months.
In the entertainment system, FiberCom will be using its fiber-optic bridging technology now in use in offices and on campuses "all over the world," he said.
FiberCom was the first vendor selected for the entertainment systems, Wellman said.
Marconi also will be retrofitting Boeing 747, 757 and 767 jets with FiberCom's bridging technology in a separate contract by late this year.
The Roanoke company has developed an internetworking device connecting several local networks directly with Boeing for its 777 model planes.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB