Internet Radio Takes Off
January 15, 2009 at 10:51 am Jennifer Lane 2 comments
United Airlines will offer in-flight internet access on certain flights from New York’s JFK to California’s two largest airports – LAX and San Francisco International starting sometime in second quarter, according to tech blog GigaOm
. United flights will become wifi hotspots with the new service provided by Aircell’s Gogo service.
And so Internet radio is available in the sky as well. Other airlines launched partnerships with Aircell in 2008, including Virgin, American and Delta, and reportedly most major airlines are in “advanced discussions” with the provider.
While this is not likely to be a huge source of new listening, it’s more evidence of the coming ubiquity of Internet radio.
Said Jack Blumenstein, Aircell president & CEO. “Passengers love Gogo Inflight Internet service and the freedom it gives them to be productive, connected and entertained. Forward-thinking airlines like United are putting the power of Gogo in their passengers’ hands and reaping the revenue and customer loyalty benefits that it brings.”
Entry filed under: Internet radio, mobile. Tags: airlines, Internet radio, Mobile internet.
1. Erik Schwartz | January 15, 2009 at 1:36 pm
It’s extremely unlikely they will allow any streaming media (or skype) over airliner internet connections. There’s just not that much bandwidth to the plane to support multiple streamers. It’s all about the choke point, in this case it’s the speed of the connection to the ground. Say it’s 3 mbps, that 3 mb pipe is shared by everyone on the plane.
This is email and light browsing only.
2. Jennifer Lane | February 7, 2009 at 11:09 am
Thanks for the comment Eric. Apparently, broadband uses such as Skype and Youtube are allowed, as indicated by this article in the New York Times.