Internet Access

If given the choice, I know I would select slithery, scaly reptiles (and Samuel L. Jackson) over listening to the teenager in the adjacent seat babble into a cell phone any day.

But The Economist reports that 80% of airline travelers said that they would approve of the use of cell phones in transit.

Don’t despair, there’s hope for those of you who are getting a migraine at the idea of being trapped at 30,000 feet in a cramped metal tube full of yakking fellow passengers. Apparently, more people are interested in in-flight text messaging, while very few people are enthusiastic about the idea of making actual voice calls.

My ideal scenario would be that cell phones would be allowed for text messaging and internet connectivity throughout the flight, while voice conversation would be limited to designated 20 minute intervals every couple of hours.

According to The Economist, the current ban on cell phones in transit has more to do with worries about interfering with cell phone networks on the ground than with avionics. But that’s in direct conflict with a recent study from Carnegie Mellon. According to Scientific American:

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University concluded that cell phones and other PEDs could endanger the normal operation of critical navigation systems on aircraft. After monitoring radio emissions from portable electronics during airline flights (with an antenna and spectrum analyzer that fit into a carry-on bag), they estimate that an average of one to four cellular calls are made from the cabin during each trip–despite the ban. The researchers also determined that some of the emissions from mobile phones occurred in frequencies employed by Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which are increasingly vital for safe landings. In addition, the study warned that avionics that operate at non-cell phone frequencies could encounter interference when nearby wireless signals interact and generate spurious spikes in other frequency ranges.

I say, before we get ahead of ourselves with the enabling of in-flight cell phone abuse, let’s investigate this possibility further. The physical and mental safety of passengers depends on it.

Via Glenn Fleishman.

I was just a kid when cell phones first came out, but I remember thinking to myself, “someday, I’ll be able to use my cell phone as a modem.” That day is today.

For the first time ever, I was able to connect my Samsung T509 to my Macintosh iBook G4 and move along the Web at almost-DSL speeds from anywhere I get cell service. I’ve got a post up with more details over at the Blog Business Summit.

One of the issues that this raises is that I can’t talk on my cell phone while I’m using it as a modem because the Web connection slows down to unacceptable speeds, but I soon was able to overcome that. I simply paired my bluetooth headset with my computer and forwarded my cell phone to my SkypeIn number.

I love technology.

I’ve been meaning to post this for a few days, but Stowe Boyd beat me to it.

With the ending of Boeing’’s Connexion service, some have presented the idea that travelers want to “get away” from their computers while on a plane, and that in-flight Web access is somehow undesirable. I find this to be absolute nonsense. Forbes quotes analyst Doug McVitie who said “When the doors close on the airplane, there’s normally a sigh of relief–people want to be unreachable.” McVitie totally misses the point. Boeing’s key differentiator from other services was that they offered the ability to surf the Web, which (for those who know their way around a browser) is liberating, not constraining.

I just ordered a Verizon wireless card for my powerbook, and know many others who have done the same. I bought mine so that I could be online anywhere — boating, in the car (with the wife driving,) at the neighborhood pool etc. Verizon sells a ton of these cards, and according to Claude Mitchell at Verizon they are seeing “seeing considerable growth in all categories” of cellular broadband. This wouldn’t be happening if significant numbers of people didn’t want always-on access. Ask the many thousands who buy these cards “would you like them to work on airplanes in flight?” you’d get a resounding YES.

Even Glenn Fleishman, one of the smartest guys in the industry said “he was surprised as anyone to see the poor uptake numbers in this story and elsewhere.” I think the answer is simple. For one, (as Scoble mentions) battery life was a constraint. Why pay $27.00 for a day of access when your battery poops out after 2 hours? Another reason is that configuring yet another account and figuring out how to log into yet another access point was daunting. I know that Scoble says some MS managers say they liked being off the grid, but I think they are an anomaly. For every overworked Microsoft middle manager playing catch-up to a competitor, there are 20 real people trying to get stuff done or want to download a TV show off iTunes. EVDO card sales prove it.

It’s sort of like saying after the Apple Lisa failed (I used to sell them BTW) that “people don’t want to use a mouse or a graphical user interface.” Lunacy. Like the Lisa, Connexion was too early, wasn’t transparent enough, and wasn’t cheap enough - period. Now we have to wait for the Macintosh and/or Windows of inflight Internet…

It appears that ASiQ has issued a press release touting how they are a logical “Boeing Connexion Replacement” and how “the recent decision by Boeing to close down the Connexion by Boeing Internet Service, creates more opportunities for ASiQ’s low cost alternative.”

Founder Ron Chapman says ASiQ has signed Saudi Airlines as a client for their new service.

We’re eager to find out more, but Glenn Fleishman says there is no promising in-flight broadband alternative on the horizon:

“There’s no other service in the running yet to offer global Internet access. In fact, there’s no other generally available commercial Internet service in flight at all right now. AirCell will blanket North America with broadband—they will eventually have permission and partners to deploy over not just the US, but Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. OnAir and Aeromobile plan European launches by next year of cell service.”

Earlier this summer, blogger Josh Hallet experienced some truly worthless Sprint PCS Wifi at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

I’m currently waiting on a delayed Southwest flight out of Salt Lake, and I met with a different but equally frustrating issue. Even after I bought and payed for WiFi access, I couldn’t log in to use the Web. Every time I entered my username and password into the Sprint terminal, I got an error message.

After speaking with Sprint PCS customer service, I learned that in order to log on, you have to add a silly little extension to your username in order to log in. The appropriate format for logging into the Spring PCS Wifi at Salt Lake City is username@wifi.sprintpcs.com. Then enter your password just like you normally would.

Of course, you wouldn’t know that from looking at the Sprint PCS login page, and I’m sure it’s frustrated more than one traveler.

Jeff Sandquist’s AirPower Wiki is designed to help users find WiFi and power outlets at airports around the world.

Via Scobleizer.

Latest research indicates that cell phone emissions are not totally without risk. Full story here.

“…researchers at Carnegie Mellon University concluded that cell phones and other PEDs could endanger the normal operation of critical navigation systems on aircraft. After monitoring radio emissions from portable electronics during airline flights (with an antenna and spectrum analyzer that fit into a carry-on bag), they estimate that an average of one to four cellular calls are made from the cabin during each trip–despite the ban. The researchers also determined that some of the emissions from mobile phones occurred in frequencies employed by Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, which are increasingly vital for safe landings. In addition, the study warned that avionics that operate at non-cell phone frequencies could encounter interference when nearby wireless signals interact and generate spurious spikes in other frequency ranges.”

Sayeth the TravelPost.com Insider.

I say, boo! I wanna blog from 30,000 feet.

Apparently, Josh Hallett had a truly bad experience with the Sprint PCS WiFi at Salt Lake City.

I personally hate paying for WiFi at airports. I understand paying for it on a plane because it’s really expensive to provide, but the airports should give people WiFi free of charge. Just like hotels should.

Anywhere but in the air, it’s like charging for hot and cold running water.

Andy Abramson is a road warrior. He travels frequently to Europe on business, and uses Connexion frequently when he does.

His opinion about the potential loss of Connexion services is pretty clear:

The fact that the financially troubled US airlines can’t see the value in this for passengers is downright old school thinking. That’s the same kind of thinking that the record industry took about downloads as a way to sell music in my view, and we all know what happened there.

He also cites the relief of knowing that when he steps off an airplane, he is totally caught up on his e-mail, his RSS reader, and the blogosphere at large.

Via TailRank.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Boeing is considering whether to shut down or sell their much buzzed-about Connexion service (which sponsors this blog).

According to the company’s official statement, “the system is performing well and we know we have a useful product, but we are trying to determine how good a business we have. The decision ultimately will be based on a disciplined market analysis, financial analysis and discussion with customers. No decisions have been made.”

I personally think that losing Connexion would be a real blow to in-flight connectivity. It’s a truly cool service and one that I hope to have the opportunity to use. I certainly can’t see us going back to a world without in-flight Internet access - but we’ll just have to see how it all pans out.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Singapore Airlines has added in-flight WiFi (subscription only) to flights from San Francisco to Hong Kong and on to Singapore as well as Los Angeles-Tokyo-Singapore.

Why the WSJ failed to mention Connexion, which sponsors this blog, while including their pricing scheme is beyond me. Still, cool for Singapore Airlines and cool for Connexion.

The TravelPost.com Insider has a great list of parks that have free WiFi in different US States.

A few days ago, Jetblue’s in flight entertainment subsidiary, LiveTV picked up the rights to provide domestic in flight Internet access. The terms of the sale prevent the service from going into effect before 2010.

Jeff Pulver has speculated that perhaps JetBlue and Connexion (which sponsors this blog) might join forces to provide the service to users before the end of the decade.

“As a rule we don’t comment on rumors or speculation, so I couldn’t do it if I wanted to,” said Terrance Scott of Connexion yesterday. “The auction winners are both prohibited from saying anything about the auction process during the ongoing quiet period, so armchair speculation is rampant.”

He also pointed out that Jetblue, which operates an all Airbus fleet, has never done anything with Boeing.

But does Connexion have any plans to get into the domestic market in the near future?

“We made a conscious decision not to participate in the spectrum auction, opting instead to focus on maximizing the current global network we operate. However, we have and will continue to monitor the evolution of the ATG technology to see how it matures,” said Scott.

Overall, he concluded, these developments are good for in flight connectivity in general, and that’s good for both Connexion and the traveling public. Besides, he pointed out, “the technology is also only applicable over terrestrial land mass, so it doesn’t/won’t provide US carriers with a solution for their international flights. That’s where we come in.”

“We basically view the air to ground capability as being complimentary to the Connexion by Boeing service.”

Rafe Needleman over at CNet News has an update for us on the WiFi-enabled music player that will allow users to snag any preselected album off of various online stores whenever they come in range of a WiFi connection.

Let’s say you just downloaded Not Ready to Make Nice (iTunes) by the Dixie Chicks but decide long after you’ve left your computer that you love it so much you want the whole darn record. With an iPod, that wouldn’t happen until you could get back to a computer with an Internet connection, but if you were using a WiFi-enabled player, you would just flag the album for later purchase. Then at any old time, you could step into a WiFi-enabled coffee shop, buy a latté and have the whole album downloaded by the time you step outside.

Update. Via TechMeme.

If you’re good at planning ahead, you can check out I Love Free Wifi from your computer before you leave for your destination, so you know where all the free hotspots are located.

And if you’re like me - totally unprepared and running around like a chicken with her head cut off - you can just text the site and get a message back with the locations of the 6 closest hotspots.

Via Travel Post Insider.

Apparently the City of New York will be opening free wireless networks all over the five boroughs, starting with Central Park in July. For those busy Manhattanites not lucky enough to escape to the Hamptons for the hot weather, and business travelers who want to catch a little bit of fresh air while e-mailing between meetings - it’s a must-use.

Via FlyAway Café.

Singapore Airlines has announced the addition of the in-flight Internet service on its 3 daily roundtrips between Singapore and Sydney. Another new route with Wi-Fi in the Sky is All Nippon’s Tokyo-San Francisco service.

Now, if we could just get a domestic carrier to offer the service!

A little tip for all you travelers going through Seattle in the next few weeks. Cingular is in the process of selling their network at the airport to Wayport Access and the result is a series of very frustrating bugs. If you try to use the Cingular service, you can charge your card just fine, but you won’t be able to connect to the Internet. The result is that you have to call their 1-800 number to reverse the credit card charges, racking up long hold times on your cell phone minutes.

Instead of using Cingular, make sure to connect straight to the Wayport network off the bat. It’s actually less expensive than the Cingular network by about $3 for a 24 hour period. Always good to know.

Connexion by Boeing (which sponsors this blog) recently hosted a group of gamers traveling from Copenhagen to the TransAtlantic Showdown video gaming championships in New York. On their Scandinavian Airlines flight, the gamers were treated to Connexion access so that they could compete with one another while flying over the North Atlantic. The gamers had a great time, and the story was picked up by news outlets the world over (though some curmudgeonly naysayers thought it was a “waste of time and technology”).

Apart from the gaming community, a recent study by Burke Research that includes responses from nearly 3,200 participants worldwide found that in-flight internet is changing traveller behavior. Fully 83% of those surveyed said that the availability of the Connexion by Boeing service will have an impact on future travel plans and their choice of airline carrier and 94% said they plan to use the service again on a future flight.

Now we know that Connexion sponsors this blog, so we’re supposed to say nice things about them. But even beyond that, I think it’s really cool how they’ve decided to promote this service to geeks and gamers. I really, really can’t wait until the service becomes domestic, as I never get to go on overseas flights. And popular as it is becoming among those who have used it - I think that Internet access at 30,000 feet will become the rule, rather than the exception.