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

DATE: SATURDAY, May 20, 1995                   TAG: 9505220025
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

IN-FLIGHT FUN FROM ROANOKE

Litton-FiberCom Inc., a Roanoke electronics manufacturer, provides the network linking equipment for the new Boeing 777's seat-back, in-flight entertainment system.

Three FiberCom communications network "boxes" on the airliner allow all the system's features to be operated at the same time, said Bob Martinet, vice president and general manager of FiberCom.

FiberCom's work on the new plane is as a subcontractor to GEC Marconi of Great Britain, the primary contractor for the audio-visual system. Martinet said the company has delivered equipment, representing half of a $15 million contract with Marconi.

FiberCom is hoping to cash in on its work when older airliners are retrofitted with the new seat-back system, Martinet said. The system could be installed in all wide-bodied aircraft, he said.

The company also makes the control equipment, called a bridge router, for the airplane's entire communications network under a separate contract with Boeing, Martinet said.

The equipment was designed at the company's plant on Orange Avenue and manufactured at its Melrose Avenue plant.

by CNB