20,000 Pounds of Potatoes: The Strange Boeing (NYSE:BA) Experiment that Solved Patchy Wi-Fi

A recent story emerged involving aerospace stock Boeing BA -4.08% ▼ , and how it addressed an issue with Wi-Fi connectivity on flights. It turns out that all it really took to fix the problem was 20 tons of potatoes. Not because they made good snacks eventually, or because Boeing needed a lot of low-grade batteries. It turns out the potatoes served an entirely different purpose. Boeing stock, meanwhile, plunged, down over 4% in Thursday afternoon’s trading.

Claim 70% Off TipRanks Premium

• Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions

• Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis and maximize your portfolio’s potential

The story went that Boeing was trying to fix issues with Wi-Fi connectivity on flights, and turned to sacks of potatoes to serve as stand-ins for human passengers. It turns out that Wi-Fi on flights was once rather fidgety in nature, with signals bouncing around the cabin, and devices’ ability to connect can be determined by a matter of inches.

Thus, Boeing used stacks of sacks of potatoes to emulate the size and shape, roughly, of human beings to determine how the signal changes in an occupied cabin. Potatoes, as it turns out, react about the same way that human flesh does to radio signals. This made the spuds a surprisingly worthwhile human analogue. From there, Boeing could map weak spots, make improvements accordingly, and deliver better in-flight Wi-Fi.

Boeing Seals Carbon Deal

Meanwhile, Boeing secured a deal going multiple years with Carbonfuture, a move that will give Boeing a minimum of 40,000 tons of durable carbon dioxide removal credits. This is actually one of the largest such deals the aviation sector has seen to date.

While Boeing has made significant advancements in fuel changes and other technological matters, these are not enough to help Boeing achieve its goals. Thus, it turned to Carbonfuture, which makes biochar. Biochar is plant material that is heated in a low-oxygen environment, reports note. That in turn makes the plant matter into a kind of stable carbon that can be kept buried for long periods.

Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 13 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 34.38% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $276.36 per share implies 34.75% upside potential.

Disclosure

Disclaimer & DisclosureReport an Issue