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November 20, 2008

Virgin Embraces In-Flight WiFi Offering from Qualcomm, ZTE, Aircell

By Michael Dinan, TMCnet Editor

Attaching its new Internet-in-the-sky service to media that IT insiders say represents the future of telecommunications, a San Francisco-based airline reportedly is joining YouTube to its onboard WiFi (News - Alert) launch.



 
According to CNet.com – an online magazine owned and operated by CBS Interactive – Virgin America is launching its so-called “Gogo Inflight” Internet service on Saturday.
 
“To show off how robust the in-flight Internet service is, the company is planning to stream a live video feed from the plane down to the ground to an audience attending the YouTube (News - Alert) Live concert in San Francisco,” CNet’s Marguerite Reardon reports.
 
The new service will be available to all passengers on a single WiFi enabled plane starting next Monday, Nov. 24, Reardon says. American and Delta area also using the Gogo service from Aircell. It costs $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours.
 
“By the second quarter of 2009, the company expects to offer Wi-Fi on its entire fleet of planes,” Reardon says.
 
As TMCnet reported this week, the Gogo service is a collaborative offering from ZTE USA, Qualcomm, and in-flight broadband services provider Aircell.
 
With the service, passengers with Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, can do things like surf the Web, send and receive e-mail, instant-message and access a corporate VPN.
 
TMCnet Contributing Editor Michelle Robart reports that in order to ensure that airline customers receive Aircell’s service no matter where they are traveling in the United States, ZTE’s (News - Alert) base stations are stationed all over the nation.
 
While en route, subscriber WiFi traffic is sent to ZTE’s so-called “CDMA EV-DO Rev. A” networking equipment through Qualcomm (News - Alert) modems that are aircraft-mounted.
 
“The technology was created to accommodate the high speed and high altitude of aircraft connecting with the base station,” Robart says. “As a result, the service significantly improves upon previous in-flight wireless services, which were slow, costly and complicated.”
 
According to Reardon, as part of Virgin America’s live YouTube feed, TV’s “30 Rock” actor Keith Powell will film a segment in-flight for his Web mini-series with co-star Katrina Bowden.
 

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Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael’s articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Michael Dinan


 







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