InflightBroadband
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Americans rule in-flight internet adoption -- for now
It doesn't get more American than gnawing on a doughnut sandwich while watching Toddlers in Tiaras, right? Well, apparently, the only thing more American is engaging in these two acts while connected to in-flight internet. In a recent BBC article, Gogo's Jon Cobin said at least 1,200 commercial aircraft flying over these here amber waves of grain offer up WiFi, while there are only 100 [commercial] flying machines serving on-board connectivity in the rest of the world. Delta's just announced full, fleet-wide WiFi connections on domestic flights, while most other major US carriers offer internet access on all or some of their planes. As the BBC points out, that could have something to do with the slow roll out of satellite-based systems -- many American airlines depend on Gogo's land-based services. Unfortunately for you die-hard patriots, however, acceptance of satellite broadband seems poised to take flight in the near future. At least we'll always have Eden Wood.
Aircell flies toward LTE for in-flight broadband
We didn't think it was possible to fit any more nails into the CDMA2000 evolution path's coffin, but Aircell managed to find some space. The company, whose in-flight WiFi service Gogo presently uses EV-DO Rev. A, has now committed to moving to LTE to support a 4G-based service down the road to deliver, among other things, high-def multimedia and more advanced in-cockpit weather data. With LTE yet to be commercially deployed anywhere -- let alone on a scale large enough to be useful to aircraft -- Aircell has a while to ramp up and get ready for a 4G launch, but it says that it's already engaged with the appropriate standards bodies to be sure that everyone's on the same page. Looks like our dream of someday torrenting from six miles in the air is still alive, thank goodness.[Via MobileBurn]
