Airplane Internet like GoGo

[DanDanDan]

I'm sitting here on a plane catching up with some work and it occurs to me that the internet connection at a decent speed only cost be $8 for the entire duration of the flight.

Has anyone looked into the possibility of getting a service like this while at sea? This company is GoGo, but there may be others. Seems like if it works on a long haul flight it should work at sea. Depending on the satellite coverage I would imagine.

I can certainly google it, but the fasten seatbelt light will be coming on in just a minute so I though I'd see if anyone has explored the idea.

[Dsanduril]

Gogo is currently an Air-to-Ground service, they operate land-based 800MHz stations that talk with the planes. So, no coverage at sea (or even much on land since it is pure line-of-sight). Have to be in the air to get the Gogo signal. Most of their competitors are the same.

Gogo is in testing to deliver Ka-band satellite to planes, but the service is actually from InMarSat, just re-packaged. And we already have InMarSat data available on boats.

[vida nueva]

I believe the gogo transmitters are all ground based and pointed up. If you are on a trans-oceanic flight you won't see it. Therefore, it won't work for ocean cruisers.


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[DanDanDan]

Well there's the quick answer to that. Figured someone would have the answer. I thought it was available transatlantic, but certainly could be wrong.


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[bsurvey]

iridium go turns you boat into a wifi hot spot has satellite up link and its paid for by the month

[SVTwilight]

Predict Wind and possibly others are now offering the Iridium Go unit for about $1100 and monthly unlimited internet $125 (at 2.4kb/s which is a bit slow for surfing, ok for email). It is true world coverage as I understand it. A bit pricey, but much better value that previous plans.

[maytrix]

Exede is an internet provider over satellite. Not sure what the range is on that, but it might be available while on the water depending on where you'll be.

[zengirl]

Originally Posted by maytrix

Exede is an internet provider over satellite. Not sure what the range is on that, but it might be available while on the water depending on where you'll be.

Does this all mean if you have a land package with Verizon you can only get internet while in marina?

[Dsanduril]

Originally Posted by zengirl

Does this all mean if you have a land package with Verizon you can only get internet while in marina?

It means you can only get Verizon internet within range of a cell tower. Actual range will vary, general about 5-8 miles but with various extender antennas over flat water you can sometimes get 10-20 miles. More than that from a cell tower and you're SOL.

[zengirl]

I have to get used to this, and don't laugh at me, what is SOL? Haha


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[Dsanduril]

Sorry, my bad, $h1t out of luck (which I guess should really be SOOL, but it's pronounced more like 'outta')

[zengirl]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Sorry, my bad, $h1t out of luck (which I guess should really be SOOL, but it's pronounced more like 'outta')

Been that many times! Haha. Thanks


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[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by DanDanDan

I'm sitting here on a plane catching up with some work and it occurs to me that the internet connection at a decent speed only cost be $8 for the entire duration of the flight.

Has anyone looked into the possibility of getting a service like this while at sea? This company is GoGo, but there may be others. Seems like if it works on a long haul flight it should work at sea. Depending on the satellite coverage I would imagine.

I can certainly google it, but the fasten seatbelt light will be coming on in just a minute so I though I'd see if anyone has explored the idea.

Just flew United TransPac. They are piloting "United WiFi"

It appears they hope to eventually get rid of the cabin entertainment systems. The email they sent in advance said to download the latest United App for iPad and log in on the flight with your iPad.

Movies and TV shows were basically local in cabin WiFi with the media stored on-board - not a great selection BTW. SFO to TYO there was email and basic browsing but no off aircraft streaming (i.e. broadband internet). TYO-SIN I could log in to the home page (watch this space splash screen) but the WiFi was inop or not installed yet in the aircraft.

There was also Direct TV but I didn't try it over water. I suspect as someone said above streaming TV works over land based networks. Probably not TransPac.

The pilot program is free but the website is set up to charge $19 per flight (probably or perhaps per day if multiple flights).

I streamed a movie on the cabin WiFi and had several pixellation and sound drop outs and one crash/reboot. I usually load up my iPad for flights and based on the performance and content I won't be changing my strategy any time soon.

Satellite internet is coming but it is slow and expensive at present. Reasonably priced broadband is probably a few years away if ever...