"Prior to the integration of in-flight Wi-Fi, most airline passengers passed their time at 30,000 feet completely disconnected from the world below them — but these days, that’s a highly uncommon occurrence."<p>Am I missing something here? 99% of the flights I take don't offer Wi-Fi, and in most cases not even power outlets. And those that do have Wi-Fi seem to be charging 30% of my monthly internet bill to provide it for a mere few hours. Like, no thanks.
Jet Blue just rolled out free wifi to most of their US-based flights... and while it was pretty slow, I could still RDP into my work computer to answer emails and read HN. That was pretty sweet. You can pay $10 to get "gaming" speeds but I didn't test it out. I'd imagine most pings being >200ms. Has anyone tried it out?
Does anyone have details on the ground based cell networks used for some planes? Are they partnering with a provider like Verizon Wireless to use their existing service, which I don't believe is the case unless they are aiming their antennas into the air on certain towers for them. Or do they just lease space for their own antennas on towers and aim them upwards? and then pay for bandwidth, etc?
Of all the things I want on a plane, WiFi ranks a lot lower than having a consistent power outlet at my seat. There's nothing worse than having Wifi but a laptop that can only last a % of the flight.
While on a flight recently, I realized... Why doesn't Google sponsor free in-flight WiFi? It would be much easier than Google Fiber or Project Loon, and it would let them deliver more ads to a fairly wealthy group of people.
This paragraph is absurd. Not sure if the author was excessively exaggerating or this is true. Can someone who's a domain expert or is familiar with the device to clarify why in-flight WAPs are 10x more expensive but 10x more fragile? Cosmic rays?<p><pre><code> Called Wireless Access Points (or WAPs), these black boxes
function similarly to Wi-Fi routers that would be found in a
home, but because they’re on an airplane, they cost 10 times more
and break 10 times more easily. Each WAP is connected by a
QuadRax cable, which is essentially formed of wires within wires
within wires.</code></pre>
Funny story: some in-flight WiFi services give you a different price based on your user-agent (high for phones, higher for tablets, highest for desktop browers). Fortunately no one can change that...
What's with the insistence on demand for streaming music or video on a plane? Do these people also forgo packing a suitcase and just rebuy everything as needed?
does anyone know a highly reliable mobile satellite internet solution? price is less-ish of an object but i've been looking for something to take with me on extended camping trips and remote locations to do work or for emergencies (also thinking of buying property somewhere without good wired internet).<p>haven't found much so far except for extremely expensive (5-figure) expedition type rigs.
It used to feel like a sanctuary going on a plane and being forced offline, no social media, no emails, no ads, no constant poking of my dopamine receptors. One of the last refuges.
I mainly do trans-pacific flights. In such long (>12h) flights I can't use wifi even if its on offer, as it chews through precious battery time too fast. I would kill for plane seats with power plugs, or even just USB power.