Gadling visits Aircell – the company behind Gogo Inflight Internet

by Scott Carmichael on

There is no denying it – Gadling loves Gogo Inflight. So much in fact, that we begged to take a look behind the scenes at what makes this inflight Internet service run, and grill their executives on when we can finally have Internet on every single flight we take. It was a fascinating day, spent with people that really love what they are doing.
The geeky side of Aircell

The Aircell network consists of 92 ground stations. Think of them as the same kind of cell tower you have in your back yard, but looking up at the skies. The technology is very similar to what you use on Sprint and Verizon (EVDO Rev.A). Thankfully for Aircell, looking up at the skies requires a hell of a lot less towers than looking towards the horizon (like cellphone companies need to do). For starters, there are no trees and buildings blocking your view, and when you look up, there is no curvature of the earth to deal with.

Some other background information for the geeks – their network uses cellular equipment from Chinese manufacturer ZTE (their first major network sale in the US. The rest of it runs pretty much the same way any major network operates – a lot of Cisco and IBM equipment, and a backbone powered by AT&T. At the moment, each airplane gets 3.1mbit of bandwidth.

Their network operations center was surprisingly boring – a handful of people keep a close eye on the ground based network, and one guy watches the planes. The reason for this is actually great for Aircell – their equipment has proven to be extremely reliable, and they really can keep the entire network running with just a couple of guys.

In their network operations center, the wall has the screens you’d expect from any NOC – a couple of network status screens and a large plasma TV with 100’s of planes. The planes are all color coded to show their status. Thankfully all but one or two planes were green which may have explained the serenity in their room.

Aircell equipment installations

At the moment, Aircell has gear installed on just under 700 aircraft (this does not include installations on private planes). When you realize that just 12 months ago it was only on 23 planes, you’ll understand what an amazing accomplishment this has been.

The really amazing number is that the Aircell team can install the entire system on a plane in just 8 hours. Airlines hate taking a plane out of operation, and obviously, Aircell can’t ask the airline to hand them a plane for a couple of days. So at the moment, the Aircell team arrives at the airport, gets access to a plane at 10pm, and by sunrise, the plane has been equipped with everything it needs to offer Internet access in the skies.

The company

During the day, Aircell opened up every office in the building for me – nothing was off limits. I spent some time chatting with their CEO, their VP of airline operations and even spent some time in their mock airplane cabin complete with coach and first class seating. This cabin-in-an-office is where Aircell did some real hands-on testing of how people work on their computer, and probably realized like the rest of us that using a large laptop in a coach seat is a major hassle.

The future

As Aircell adds more aircraft to its network, and more users learn the joy of inflight Internet, you obviously run the risk of towers becoming too crowded, and the speed grinding to a halt. Thankfully the company is fully prepared to deal with that. When they showed me their current base station map, they showed how easy it is to just add new towers. So easy in fact, that they can even add towers for one specific high-traffic route. So, if too many people start using it between LA and San Francisco, keeping speeds acceptable involves nothing more than a new tower looking up to the skies on that route.

In addition to this, Aircell already has a future plan laid out for a migration to 4G technology. They have picked LTE as their next generation system, and as the market evolves, they’ll be able to beam as much as 100mbit to a single aircraft.

Of course, when I asked which airlines we can expect to join the ranks of the current Aircell customers, the room got rather quiet. But it is safe to say that pretty soon, almost every major US carrier will have committed to offering Internet in the air. There is only one competitor for domestic US inflight Internet access, and they have yet to see a major rollout to any aircraft.

One big topic at the Aircell HQ is video – video is big on the ground, and if it is up to them, it’ll be big in the skies as well. There were very few details about their plans, but if you picture turning your laptop into an inflight entertainment system with content coming from equipment on the plane, you’ll get an idea of how Aircell envisions the future of flying.

Wrap-up

I’d like to thank Aircell and everyone that took the time to speak to me. It was fun to see so many people speak so passionately about what they are doing. Despite some grumblings from the media wondering how they’ll ever make money, the company has a pretty solid outlook on the future. Usage is up month after month, they just reached the one million user mark, and are going to hit two million within the next month.

Obviously most passengers would prefer the service to be free, but when you look at the amount of money that has been pumped into building this network, it is pretty amazing they can offer it at this current price point.

Seven travel-related things to be thankful for

by Katie Hammel on

While travel as the act of discovering a new place can be exhilarating and exciting, travel as the act of being in transit can be annoying and exhausting. Long lines, delays, rude people and all the frustrations that go along with moving large amounts of people from A to B can make the physical movement involved with travel something to really complain about. But this Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a step back and think about all the travel-related things that we do have to be thankful for.

I’m thankful for the airlines.
I know, I know, we spend a lot of time griping about all the things the airlines are doing wrong. They run late, they lose our luggage and they charge us extra for everything, but without them, traveling would be a completely different experience. Thanks to the airlines, we can leave home and arrive on the other side of the world within a day – a single day. That kind of immediate access to a far off country was unfathomable just a few decades ago. Back then undertaking a long-distance journey meant days, if not weeks spent on a train or a trans-Oceanic boat ride. And for all but the rich, that kind of travel was cramped, uncomfortable, dirty, and often dangerous. So I’m thankful for the airlines, for making long-distance travel quick, affordable and safe, and for allowing us to travel the world with relative ease.
I’m thankful for hardworking airline and airport staff.
I’m very grateful to airline staff, especially to the good pilots (you know, the ones who aren’t too drunk, crazy or horny to do their jobs) who do everything in their power to get us all to our destinations safely. I’m thankful for mechanics, baggage handlers and ground crew who work hard and are rarely recognized for it (Seriously, just think about the massive coordination it must require to sort, load and unload all that luggage and you’ll be surprised more isn’t lost). And I am very, very thankful for the cheerful flight attendants who probably put up with far too much crap from stressed and cranky fliers, yet still manage to serve my vodka and cranberry drinks promptly and with a smile.
I’m thankful that booze is still served on flights.
Chris Elliot may think it’s time to get rid of the booze on flights, but as a nervous flier, this girl needs a cocktail or two to help stay calm during rough flights. I’m even more thankful for the handful of carriers that still offer free drinks on international flights. You guys get my business over an airline that charges for drinks, every time.
I’m thankful for a job that allows me to travel
It’s easy to lament the high cost of traveling or that fact that we never seem to have enough vacation time to fulfill all our travel dreams. But the truth is, for most middle-class workers, travel is very attainable. With a little bit of penny pinching and some attention to the budget, most people can scrape together enough money for at least one vacation per year.
But for the thousands of Americans who are supporting a family on an income that is at or below the poverty line, no amount of “cutting back” will allow them to afford a week in Spain, let alone a weekend in Florida. So I am thankful that my husband and I are able to earn an income that allows us to explore the world.
I’m thankful for the internet.
Before the internet, booking a trip was a difficult process, one best left to the professionals. But the invention of the internet and its easy access to nearly unlimited information has changed the way we plan trips. Now anyone can go online, search for the best flight fares, book tickets, search for a hotel, check the reviews, and make reservations all with a few clicks.
And even though we complain when wi-fi isn’t free at hotels and airports, I’m still just grateful that it exists at all. With wireless internet, I can stay connected and get important work done while I am waiting in the airport terminal, at my hotel, and even while I am 35,000 feet in the air! The idea of being “location independent”, of working from anywhere remotely, was unheard of 10-15 years ago. Now thousands of people are able to explore the world and stay connected to their careers.


I’m thankful for my American passport.
As an American, I am free to go almost anywhere in the world knowing that in most cases (with the exceptions of North Korea, Cuba….and maybe Paris), I’ll be welcomed with open arms. People in many other countries aren’t so lucky. For people of many other countries the Visa process is a long, complicated and expensive one, one that usually ends in rejection. Would-be visitors are turned away from our (and other) borders every day. Because we fear they may be terrorists or because we wonder if they might not plan on ever leaving, we refuse to let them in. But it’s very rare that we ever hear of an American tourist being denied entry to another country. It’s one thing I take for granted, but I’m very thankful that I have the freedom to travel the world as I please.

I’m thankful for my husband and my home.
I enjoy traveling by myself and with friends, but I love traveling with my husband the most. So I am thankful that I not only have a person in my life who loves me and supports my travel habit, but who also loves to travel as a couple with me. And I am thankful that after I venture out into the world, I have a loving home to return to.

So today, and everyday, let’s remember all the little things we have to be thankful for!

Free wi-fi in Times Square

by Katie Hammel on

It’s been quite the week for free wi-fi announcements. Airlines and airports seem to be offering it up like mad, to much thanks from travelers who need to stay connected. The latest hotspot for free wi-fi: New York’s Time Square.
Yahoo!, in cooperation with Times Square Alliance, is now offering free wi-fi in the pedestrian-only area of Times Square. Just get online and head to http://m.yahoo.com. Laptop users will see a welcome screen and can then select “Times Sq Free Wifi” to connect to the web (you can use any site to search the web, not just Yahoo!).

The contract for free wi-fi in the area will last at least one year, with the possibility of a three year extension.

Now, if only we could get hotels to take note. . . .

Anti-wi-fi paint will make it harder to scam free Internet

by Sean McLachlan on

The days of scamming free wireless Internet may soon be over.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a paint that blocks wifi signals. So if a room is painted with this stuff, only computers inside the room would be able to pick up a wireless signal originating there. At a projected cost of £10 ($16) a kilo, the paint would be a cheap way of keeping hackers and moochers from using your wireless to download dodgy files.

The paint is infused with an aluminum-iron oxide that blocks all radio signals at 100Ghz, the frequency at which wifi transmits.

As ingenious as this sounds, there are a couple of downsides. First, it won’t protect the user from online threats, and of more importance to travelers, it will stop people from scamming free Internet while on the go. In Madrid I can go to my local park, pop open my laptop, and surf the Internet on somebody else’s euro. I can do this in many other European capitals too. With all the new costs being added to airline tickets, it would be a shame if this travel freebie were to disappear.

Perhaps we should tell the nice folks at the University of Tokyo “thanks but no thanks”? Anybody know how to say that in Japanese?

Gadling gear review – hField Technologies Wi-Fire high-gain USB adapter

by Scott Carmichael on

Don’t let the complicated sounding title fool you – this is by no means an overly technical article, in fact – I’ll keep things as simple as possible. The hField Technologies Wi-Fire high-gain USB adapter is not much more than a USB Wireless network adapter. However, unlike most wireless adapters on the market, the Wi-Fire puts some special focus on providing a better signal and extended range.

Now, any of you that have spent any time in a hotel, will know that wireless Internet access can be a major pain in the backside. Even in upscale hotels, getting online can be a massive frustration.

In smaller hotel chains, Internet access is often provided through just one or two access points for the entire building, and if you find yourself in a corner room, it may be impossible to grab a reliable signal. Then there are hotels that do have a decent signal, but for some reason, your laptop can’t hold on to the signal for any length of time. This obviously makes getting any work done in your room nearly impossible.

I’ve become so disappointed with hotel Wi-Fi, that I carry my own wireless broadband adapter, and will often just use that instead of the slow and unreliable hotel offering.
As I mentioned – the Wi-Fire adapter is designed to increase your chance at getting a better signal. It accomplishes this in three ways:

  • Better Wi-Fi chipset and software than most laptops (uses its own connection manager)
  • Directional antenna and ability to be extended away from your computer
  • Larger antenna surface than most laptop computers

The adapter itself is not much of a looker – in fact, it is downright ugly. In plain gray with a wobbly rotating base made of plastic and rubber, it doesn’t give the appearance of a well designed wireless adapter. Thankfully what matters most is what’s inside the device.

The rubber feet can fold flat, allowing you to place the Wi-Fire on a table or other flat surface, or folded down to cling on to the screen of your laptop. The grip isn’t too strong, so don’t expect to move your laptop around much and have the adapter hang on.

The connector on the Wi-Fire is miniUSB, which means you can use the included cable, or provide your own one if you need something longer.

My first, and most obvious test, is using the Wi-Fire in a hotel with what I can only describe as “crap Wi-Fi”. This property had a horrible signal, a dreadful 256kbps speed limit and was obviously trying to cover an entire 40 room floor with just one access point. Using the Wi-Fi adapter in my laptop, it took me 10 minutes just to get past the login screen. Connections would constantly stall or simply drop.

On the left, my laptop with integrated Wi-Fi, on the right, the Wi-Fire. Now – I’ll admit that a little signal bar doesn’t really mean much, but the connection on the Wi-Fire was far more reliable, and the signal never dropped during my 10MB download test. Speeds between the two were similar. The laptop stayed in the same place, and I used the Wi-Fire on top of the screen, so I did not physically move closer to the access point.

The Wi-Fire connection manager is simple to use, and in many cases, much easier than the standard Windows Wi-Fi management screens. It shows a clear overview of available networks, their signal strength and quality (in %, rather than silly bars) and it shows whether they have security enabled.

Conclusion

Our friends over at Engadget also took the Wi-Fire for a spin, and they came to the same conclusion I reached – the Wi-Fire works. After using it in four different hotels in the past weeks, I can really conclude that this adapter picks up a more reliable signal, and can help prevent dropped connections.

I can’t say I’m a big fan of the plastic/rubber mount, but it gets the job done, in a future version, I really think that a smarter design of the mount would make a great product even better – but as I said earlier, it really is what is inside the device that counts the most.

You’ll find the Wi-Fire adapter over at hField Technologies, where it retails for just $59.00. At that price, it is close to being a no-brainer for people regularly confronted with bad hotel and airport Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fire retailer page also lists vendors that carry it in-store as well as several international retailers.