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Less than a week ago, American Airlines announced that WiFi would be available in 15 of their flights 
(click here for the article). In their press release they announced how much the service called Gogo would cost and that VOIP services would be blocked. This way they could charge those huge fees for phone calls from their in-flight phones. Just like with all service blockages, they are just a hack away from being unblocked. We see the same cat-and-mouse game being played with the iPhone software updates and the unlocking of so many other smartphones.
The same game is now being played in the sky.
Here's the abstract of the report where the tool is mentioned.
The workaround, called Phweet, allows users to call friends who are linked via Twitter. Andy Abramson from VoIP Watch says that he recently used Phweet to chat with a friend on an American Airlines flight, and that the conversation was so clear he could hear the flight attendant ordering people to get back to their seats in preparation for landing.
Phweet is a shortURL link to an external directory (for now, only Twitter, though others will be added later), that enables calls between two or more profiles without sharing any additional information between the parties. Using the application to make calls at 27,000 feet is a painless three-step process:
- Go to the Phweet homepage and log on with your Twitter name and password.
- Add the Twitter user name of person you want to connect with, along with a message telling them want to talk. A Twitter update and Phweet URL is sent.
- When your friend clicks on the Phweet URL and accepts, your browser whistles and a Flash widget appears. Click on it to talk.
This is obviously not the last we have heard of this hack or the service... Aircell (the company behind 
Gogo) claims that the workaround to their blocks can be re-blocked but they also reported that it is up to the airline to enforce the no-call policy during flights.
Having said that, I doubt that a no-call policy can be enforced. For example; someone could activate the service, then the workaround and use their mobile device to talk from the bathroom... Not the same as a public phone booth; but you would not be seen talking into a device, therefore no one would notice whether you are circumventing their service or not.
What are your thoughts?
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Finally in-flight WiFi has arrived. For those of you like me who'd rather get some emails answered, do a little bit of browsing and VPN access during flight the time has arrived.
This morning American Airlines officially launched their broadband service on 15 nonstop 
transcontinental flights plus some of their New York-San Francisco, Los Angeles-Miami (all services with Boeing 767-200's). This service will allow passengers to send e-mail, instant message, access corporate VPN and browse the web while flying. Although a bit pricey ($12.95 for 6 hours), you can now spend your time surfing from 36,000 feet. The system is called Gogo and is run by Aircell. The technology is provided by Aircell as well. You'll be able to pay for the service when you first open your browser in flight.
A $1 billion market by 2012 is estimated to come into airlines with this kind of service. Delta Airlines is planning on using a similar service American is using. They have promised to outfit all their domestic fleet with WiFi by mid-2009. JetBlue is testing WiFi access on their San Francisco-New York flights. Alaska airlines is actively testing on some of their flights. Southwest Airlines is testing a system that was developed by Row 44 from California. It was just a matter of time, but the other major airlines will now be trying to catch up. Hopefully, they will all see that passengers are willing to use these services.
Currently there are only two different technologies being tried for WiFi in flight:
- The Aircell system leverages the existing cell tower network, is more conventional and uses an air-to-ground service that connects to cell towers. The only problem with this technology is that bandwidth is probably going to be a bit flaky (at least with early versions) as the plane's comm systems switches from tower, to tower, to tower while moving faster than any normal cell phone user would. No reference was made to the bandwidth available to the passengers.
- The other technology uses satellite communications plus WiFi b (802.11b) access points. It can be implemented in planes, boats or any other vehicle that is expected to be far away from cell towers.
So, what does this mean for us Mobile Users? Well, for one it means we are now able to connect, no matter where we are. I am not sure that prices will come down, but at least if you are in urgent need to connect, you will soon be able to do it from all the major airlines.