Units of JetBlue Airways and Verizon Communications have qualified to bid in a May 10 sale of US wireless airwaves to be used for high-speed communications services aboard passenger planes.

The Federal Communications Commission said it has approved the applications of Verizon Airfone and JetBlue's LiveTV to participate in the auction, almost a month after their initial applications were deemed incomplete by the agency.

Seven other bidders qualified to participate in the sale, including AirCell, which designs and sells airborne communications systems, and another firm that has ties to that company, AC BidCo, according to the FCC.

Other bidders that have qualified include Acadia Broadband, LP, AMTS Consortium, Intelligent Transportation & Monitoring Wireless, Space Data Spectrum Holdings, and Unison Spectrum the agency said.

The airwaves to be sold include those licensed to Verizon's Airfone service, which offers service through phones embedded in airline passenger seats, which are not used regularly because of the high cost.

The financially strapped airline industry could generate a new stream of revenue by partnering with companies wanting to offer high-speed broadband Internet, or a cheaper on-board telephone service.

The FCC adopted rules in late 2004 that gave Verizon Airfone a non-renewable five-year license to operate its current airborne service. After the auction is completed, the company would be limited to using 1 Megahertz (Mhz) of the airwaves.

The agency set up scenarios for splitting the airwaves and will go with whichever receives the highest bids. The possibilities include two overlapping licenses for 3 Mhz of airwaves, or one 3 Mhz exclusive license and another 1 Mhz exclusive license.

The FCC is also weighing whether to allow consumers to use their own cell phones on planes, but that would need agreement from aviation regulators. The FCC has yet to make a decision amid fears of a backlash from many fliers who want to keep planes as cell phone-free zones.