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JetBlue to Offer WiFi

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the guess-where-i'm-iming-you-from dept.

andyring writes "Although some trans-Atlantic flights offer WiFi for a fee, JetBlue has won approval from the FCC to provide WiFi on their flights." From the article: "While Verizon's telephone service aboard commercial planes has not done well because of the high cost to use the phones, there has been interest in offering high-speed Internet access in the air to business travelers. The licenses will not mean travelers can soon use their cell phones in the air. The FCC and Federal Aviation Administration are still weighing whether to permit that."

8 of 121 comments (clear)

  1. Great. Just great. by shiafu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As if the "brrrrrring" / "brrrrruuung" sounds of AOL instant messenger were not annoying enough in the college dorms.

  2. So instead of cell phone... by winkydink · · Score: 4, Insightful

    we'll get a bunch of idiots blathering over VOIP.

    Great! :(

    One of the last bastions of not having to listen to idiots shout their personal business gone.

    Sigh.

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    1. Re:So instead of cell phone... by Schlemphfer · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I share your fear. Just yesterday, I spent eleven hours on an Amtrak train from Boston to Syracuse. All around me, people were yakking nonstop on their cell phones. Reading and working was practically impossible.

      I'm guessing that in a few years, cellphone and VOIP talk on airplanes will be widespread. At that point, you're going to be stuck bringing headphones and listening to music for your entire flight. What a bummer that will be.

      --
      I'm generally "Interesting," "Insightful," and even "Funny" here. What the hell happens to me at parties?
    2. Re:So instead of cell phone... by zippthorne · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "At that point, you're going to be stuck bringing headphones and listening to music for your entire flight. What a bummer that will be."

      And that's different from the current situation... how? The plane itself already makes an annoying amount of noise. Mostly-white noise. you know, the kind that makes it hard to hear conversations more than a few feet away. And at a level that noise-cancelling headphones are already a must for anyone who cares about their ears or sleeping or that portable movie you brought.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    3. Re:So instead of cell phone... by fm6 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Right! Time to ban talking in public places!

      Or you could buy some earplugs.

  3. Bug in the blurb by Bromskloss · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Although some trans-Atlantic flights offer WiFi for a fee, JetBlue has won approval from the FCC to provide WiFi on their flights.
    Why would fees, charged on some trans-Atlantic flights, make it more difficult for this JetBlue thingy to get approval?
    --
    Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
  4. Re:VOIP? by Ossifer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's likely you won't get the bandwidth, or the latency will be too high, ports will be blocked, etc...

  5. Re:Been there done that by timeOday · · Score: 2, Insightful
    no ad-hoc connections were allowed for safety reasons
    Ha ha, pull the other one. Since neither you nor I can think of any reason to believe the safety excuse, can anybody else?

    More likely they just don't want anybody reselling the service. Pop a second Wi-Fi card into your laptop, get a merchant account to verify CC numbers and you're ready to make a killing undercutting their price by 50%. At least you'd recoup your own WiFi cost, with only 2 sales. Come to think of it, it wouldn't require ad-hoc anyways.