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Soon, there will be little escape from broadband internet when you fly– if you're willing to pay for it. Market leader Aircell has installed its Gogo system on 460 airplanes, reports the New York Times, and expects to have as many as 1,000 planes turned up by the end of the year. Meanwhile, Row44 is making noises about how expects to install its system on anywhere from 500 to 1,000 aircraft worldwide by the end of 2010.
Aircell's Gogo service uses off-the-shelf EVDO technology to point "up" to the sky, connecting airplanes to broadband through cellular. In turn, the airplane is one big mobile WiFi (News - Alert) hotspot; think about one of those pocket MyFi devices writ large. It is currently available on select Air Canada, Amercan Airlines, Delta, United, and flights across the United States; in addition all of AirTran and Virgin America's planes are outfitted. Delta expects to have 90 percent of its domestic mainline fleet outfitted by the end of September.
Gogo offers a variety of price packages, ranging from $5.95 on a single flight lasting up to 1.5 hours to a 30 day pass for $49.95 on a single airline, with support currently available on AirTran, Delta and Virgin America.
Interestingly, airlines aren't talking much about other features Aircell brings to the table. The company includes the installation of a pair of voice telephones in each airplane so the crew can simply pick up the phone and call someone on the ground, while the broadband system can easily be used to update electronic flights books and conduct credit card transactions with portable readers.
Upstart Row44 has been running tests with Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines, using satellite technology to provide the broadband link to the internet. The company brags of speeds of over 30 Mbps and is tempting airlines with additional services such as IPTV (News - Alert) programming, in-flight mobile phone service with pico-cells where applicable by regulation (i.e. overseas), and back-office support for crew and airline operations.
Pricing for Row44 service hasn't been set yet, but the company anticipates that airlines will charge around $5 for short flights, and $10 or so for longer ones. Row44 also needs to land a signed customer at some point; Southwest is expected to make up its mind by the end of the summer.
Various social etiquette controversies have been jawboned with the arrival of in-flight Internet usage, ranging from making in-flight VoIP calls to a passenger looking at porn. Gogo blocks obvious methods for VoIP calls and its terms of service are very clear forbidding VoIP – thou shall not bring voice into the cabin – but that hasn't stopped people from discovering various workarounds. My advice would be not to push your luck; GoGo and the airline have the ultimate say in how the service is used and annoying a flight attendant is just bad practice. If you are interested in learning about in-flight best practices, I recommend AirTran's "Internetiquette" website and video series, with special guest Peter Graves reprising his role from "Airplane."
Doug Mohney is a contributing editor for TMCnet and a 20-year veteran of the ICT space. To read more of his articles, please visit columnist page.
Edited by Jessica Kostek
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