Wi-Fi may be a bust in cities, but it’s taking off in airlines. Southwest Airlines said it will be the first U.S. carrier to test satellite-delivered broadband Internet access on multiple planes.
The airline is partnering with Southern California-based Row 44 and hopes to begin testing Internet capabilities on four planes this summer.
The Dallas-based low-cost carrier says fliers with a Wi-Fi-enabled device will have access to the Internet, including e-mail via a high-speed connection,
Southwest serves 64 cities in 32 states. Row 44, based in Westlake Village, Calif., provides airborne broadband communication using geosynchronous satellite.
Terrestrial-based, Aircell, using cellular antennas that point up, has received two important approvals from the FAA and is now cleared to deliver its service, notes Ars Technica. It will be available on American Airlines and Virgin America in 2008.
Aircell’s Gogo Inflight Internet turns a commercial airplane into a Wi-Fi hotspot, enabling passengers to surf the Web, check any e-mail, and log on to their corporate VPN, but VoIP services will NOT be available.
In-flight broadband is taking off — with and without voice:
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Alaska Airlines:
Row 44 is providing Ku band transponders with downlink speeds of 81Mbps and uplink speeds of 1.6 Mbps. Passengers get a Wi-Fi connection for Internet, e-mail, VPNs, and stored in-flight entertainment for $10 for up to two hours, $15 for 2-5hr and $20 for more than 5hr. If the airline chooses, the link can also be used to support VoIP from dual-mode phones. Row 44 leases Ku-band satellite transponders from several operators, but is managed through HughesNet. Alaska hopes to have Wi-Fi connections on all 144 of its planes up and running by spring 2008 and more than 100 channels of live television. -
American Airlines:
Aircell won the rights to 3-MHz on the 800-MHz spectrum to deliver broadband to airlines from terrestrial towers. Passengers connect via Wi-Fi inside planes. AA began testing the service on its fleet of Boeing 767-200 aircraft in August 2007, with the goal is to provide broadband service to all passengers in 2008. -
Air France:
As well as AirAsia, Oman Air and Jazeera Airways offer OnAir inflight passenger communications services. -
Virgin America:
Virgin America will be the second major U.S. airline to employ Aircell for Wi-Fi enabled devices. Additionally, the airline’s Red Inflight Entertainment network will allow customers to use a wide variety of instant messaging services on their seatbacks, including MSN messenger, Google talk, Yahoo! messenger, and AIM. The company hopes to have its all of its planes connected “sometime in 2008.” -
JetBlue:
Plans a nation-wide PlaneFi service using LiveTV, a wholly owned subsidiary of JetBlue that won rights to 1 MHz of the 800-MHz spectrum last year. They’re currently trialling free e-mail and instant-messaging on one Airbus A320. Wi-Fi connects user devices (no voice). If the trial goes well, JetBlue is expected to expand the service.
Related DailyWireless stories include; Aircell Vs Row44: Two for Two, FlyFi Takes Off, Lufthansa & AA Trying WiFi — Again, Inflight Phones Banned by FAA?, AirCell on Virgin by 2008, Wireless Voice on Airplanes? Yes & No, AirCell Demos Inflight WiFi, Aircell for Planes, FCC Rules on Airplane Cellular, Connexion On Again?, Dis Connexion, Connexion Dying, AirFone Dead, Airplane Internet Auction Over, Airplane Wireless Auction (Virtually) Over, AirCell Demos Inflight WiFi and Connexion Press Junket.
