Reuters reports today that Boeing has decided not to use wireless technology to deliver in-flight entertainment on its 787 Dreamliner airplane "because of problems involving plane weight and the technology."

According to the company, a wireless network would add 200 pounds of weight to the plane, while a wired one would only add 50 -- and more importantly, it was an insurmountable challenge to ensure that all required wireless frequencies would be permitted in all countries where the plane might fly.

"Knowing that the regulatory issues were basically insurmountable, it just did not make sense to apply those resources there," says Boeing spokesperson Lori Gunter.

More here from the Seattle Times, and here from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.