Southwest Airlines and broadband satellite provider Row 44 have partnered to test satellite-delivered broadband Internet on multiple aircraft, Southwest announced Jan. 23.

Customers on Southwest Airlines flights will have full access to the Internet, including e-mail, music, shopping and virtual private networks via a high-speed connection.

Southwest hopes to begin the test on four aircraft this summer.

"Southwest is looking for the best solution for our customers not only for Internet e-mail access, but for additional inflight entertainment as well," Dave Ridley, Southwest Airlines' senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement. “We look forward to exploring this cutting-edge technology with Row 44 and hope this will keep our customers productive and entertained inflight."