Chicago (IL) - Virgin America is currently running a Beta test of its in-flight Wi-Fi Service. While it is great news that Internet access in the air is becoming more and more available, there are some guidelines you should be aware of before you are getting too excited about this new service.

In-air Internet is not exactly new, but it seems that this time it might be here to stay as it is more thoroughly planned and there is certainly a demand for it. But there are still some downsides.
   
Of course, your Internet is not going to fly, in fact, it might sometimes creep. The speed should be between 3.0 Mb/s and 4.0 Mb/s down, and 1.0 Mb/s and 2.0 Mb/s up, and that isn’t horrible but it will be much slower than a cable modem, and a little faster than the slowest of DSL speeds. Bandwidth will also be shared between wireless customers, meaning that it is possible that your neighbor could bog you down to turtles pace without realizing it. And as soon as soon as you get music downloaders and video streamers your connection may be slowed to a crawl.

Nothing good in life is ever free, so the in-flight Wi-Fi is going to cost you. Virgin American, for example charges passengers $9.95 to access the Internet on flights that are less than three hours in length; passengers on any flight that is over three hours will find themselves paying $12.95.

The rules about cruising with your wireless devices won’t change, meaning you won’t be able to use your laptop or open any wireless devices until you are at an altitude suitable for cruising.

Even though you are able to carry along your PC with no problem, many airlines do not offer 110 volt AC power plug-ins for every seat in their coach or economy class, meaning you better have an extended battery life for those extended flights.

The introduction of in-flight Wi-Fi could also potentially mean the demise of a restful flight. No longer will your boss give you those three hours to yourself. You will be expected to work while traveling. In fact, flights that offer Go Go service will even allow you to connect to your VPN, meaning you will be on your company’s server with no excuses to not get things done.

In-flight Wi-Fi has been something individuals have been begging for. However, once you get it, it might prove to be not all its cracked up to be, for more reasons than one.

better than not having.

Nov 26, 2008 14:35     

it had been all bull that wifi will cause mulfunction. The only reason is that they want to charge you a lot for a short internet connection. If the rich people's private jets can have RIFI internet and it still flys, what's the excuse for airlines. Have it does not mean you have to work. you can shop browse and do a lot of other stuff. (just not from their in flight catalog)
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Hulu

Nov 26, 2008 16:02     

At least you can access Hulu and watch a few old episodes of ALF before the battery dies.
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Torrenting

Nov 26, 2008 20:23     

I wonder if you could download torrents while cruising? Anybody knows if they have some filters? What if you downloaded files that could cause you infringement? Where would they send the letter if you masked you mac address? Too many questions :)
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@ Pdogg985

Nov 26, 2008 21:35     

"As you get music downloaders and video streamers your connection may be slowed to a crawl," "your neighbor could bog you down to turtles pace." Everyone on your flight will hate you.
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I have to say, they can block certain ports which w...

Nov 27, 2008 00:18     

I have to say, they can block certain ports which would disable BT. This is what my college does.
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@ suavey

Nov 29, 2008 01:42     

Yes, but how will they know who you are? Bwahahhahahahaha!
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American Airlines blocks...

Dec 11, 2008 10:09     

VoIP, so no more Skyping those 900 numbers from 35,000 feet.
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