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In a way, in-flight WiFi still seems like the future. It’s the internet, in the air, while traveling at 30,000+ feet. Clearly, just having access isn’t good enough, as a smattering of opponents have stepped into a segment long dominated by Gogo with snazzier, satellite-based alternatives. Over the past few years, ViaSat has stepped up in an effort to offer flyers something that Gogo’s existing services won’t: streaming video. While Gogo’s air-to-ground network is great for latency, it struggles with bandwidth, as anyone on a crowded flight from JFK to SFO will likely attest. Today, Gogo has taken the wraps off of GTO (Ground to Orbit), described as a hybrid technology that will be “capable of delivering more than 60Mbps to the aircraft.” For those keeping score, that’s a 20-fold increase from where Gogo started just a few years ago.

We spoke to a company representative leading up to the reveal, who confirmed that GTO is a proprietary offering, and will lean on satellites for the downlink while using existing ground-based transceivers for the uplink. For users, that means that latency will remain low, uploads will remain sluggish, and downloads will improve dramatically. Gogo points out that precious little will need to change for airlines to take advantage; there’s a new antenna, which is actually half as large as the existing one, but most everything else will remain the same. Virgin America will be the launch partner of the new service, which is expected to be available in the second half of 2014; we asked if any other airlines were onboard beyond that, but were left to make assumptions for ourselves.

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Source: Gogo

The more cynical among us would argue that allowing cellphones in-flight is only a guarantee of an even more unpleasant trip, at least for anyone wanting a distraction-free cabin. There must still be a few optimists: Boeing is promising that future production runs of the 747-8 and 777 will have the necessary support for in-flight cellphone use, live TV and internet access that comes through either headrest screens or WiFi. Aircraft with the upgrade should roll off the production lines before the end of 2013, and they’ll be following a slight change to the 787 later this year that makes the technology support a common option. Some of us may wind up reaching for the earplugs in countries where regulators approve in-air wireless, but there’s definite upsides for all but the biggest curmudgeons — Boeing’s moves could lead to more ubiquitous in-flight WiFi next year, on top of ready-made wireless media streaming due in 2014.

Continue reading Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Boeing 747-8, 777 to join 787 in support for in-flight cellphone use and WiFi, like it or not originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It won’t be enough to cancel out the Engadget editor using in-flight WiFi to upload photo galleries (sorry, guys), but it should make web surfing from coach a little less tedious. United has just announced that it will be upgrading its Gogo in-air WiFi service to take advantage of Gogo’s enhanced ATG-4 service, which promises to bump speeds from the current 3.1 Mbps to 9.8 Mbps using directional antennae, dual modems and EV-DO Rev. B. Before you get too excited, though, keep in mind that United has so far only committed to retrofitting its premium service fleet, which includes 13 planes that fly between New York’s JFK and either LAX or SFO.

Continue reading United upgrading Gogo in-flight WiFi on its premium service fleet, speeds will reach 9.8 Mbps

Filed under: Transportation, Wireless

United upgrading Gogo in-flight WiFi on its premium service fleet, speeds will reach 9.8 Mbps originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 03:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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