The folks at Aircell, providers of the Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service that launched on American last week, have admitted that the ban on video and VoIP chats via Skype and other clients is not bandwidth related, it’s for the sanity of everybody else on the plane (much like the in-flight calling ban that’s started to float around Congress). Well, after the first few days of the service, Andy over at VoIP Watch has found a backdoor via the Twitter-based VoIP app Phweet that allows for chatting from 35,000 feet. If you must, read on for the details.
Delta will join the other airlines using Aircell’s GoGo cellular data service, becoming the first of the U.S. biggies to announce concrete plans for a fleet-wide rollout. They’re starting with their 133 MD88/90s, then moving on to hit every plane by summer of next year. It’ll run you US$9.95 for flights less than three hours, or US$12.95 for longer flights. There goes our last possible Internet-free haven…I mean, yay! Read on for the full release:
Air France’s in-flight mobile phone trial has finally taken off, but with bumpy results. The New York Times hitched a ride on the French carrier recently and found several bugs in the system:
Aircell, a company setting up a broadband network for use while flying, just received two critical FAA approvals that clears the way for the rollout of in-flight broadband in the near future. The first approval allows Aircell to run its network on commercially operating Boeing 767-200 planes, while the second authorises the company to manufacture aircraft parts in its Bensenville, IL plant. Both are pretty important, clearly, so it’s good to see that we’re heading in the right direction towards you beautiful people being able to leave comments on Giz from 30,000 feet. [Aircell via SlipperyBrick]
