
JetBlue scores FAA approval for Fly-Fi, may launch satellite WiFi next month - arjn
http://www.engadget.com/2013/09/03/jetblue-fly-fi-approved/
======
Killah911
Cool to see this on HN. I was a software architect on the project and helped
design a good chunk of the system :-)

------
guan
Remember those magic years in 2005 and 2006 with Connexion by Boeing, when we
had Wi-Fi on several airlines over the Atlantic and from Europe to Asia?

------
jcampbell1
After clicking a few articles deep, it appears this is communicating with a
geo-synchronous satellite and with latency of roughly 750ms. Plenty of
bandwidth, and it should in theory work in North and South America.

~~~
Killah911
Figuring out how to deal with the 750ms ping latency was a pain at first. Held
our breath when the ViaSat Satellite launched. The rockets that were launched
right before that mission didn't meet with much success.

------
drpgq
I'm surprised that getting internet widely on planes has taken as long as it
has. Air Canada still has nothing.

~~~
colmvp
On the flipside, a lot of Air Canada planes have free individual media
entertainment systems and power outlets while most of the American flights
I've taken don't have outlets or entertainment that doesn't require a credit
card.

~~~
eksith
Southwest has internet that costs, I think $8-9, per day per device for
internet, but TV is free. They also have on-demand, but that costs extra too.
No outlets yet, though.

Edit: I should mention, it's been a while.

~~~
colmvp
Given the choice, I prefer outlets over internet on flights, largely because I
can always code or play computer games on a laptop without the internet and
not worry about my computer shutting down.

------
joe_the_user
Hmm,

Would it be that hard to ramp this up and start a service on the ground? It
would be nice see more competition for the duopolies.

~~~
gvb
ViaSat Exede is the underlying magic
[http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/03/viasat-exede-
review/](http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/03/viasat-exede-review/)

~~~
timmaah
Not portable though. I live and work on the road from an Airstream using
mobile connection. An easy to configure portable satellite setup is my dream.
There are a few out there but at crazy prices.

~~~
toomuchtodo
[http://www.datastormusers.com](http://www.datastormusers.com)

A gentleman camped ~100 feet from me at Burning Man last week was using it;
said it worked like a champ. He's on a mobile platform as well.

------
kemiller
What impact does the "radome" have on aerodynamics and fuel efficiency?

------
arjn
Someone should look into providing head mounted display (think Oculus Rift)
devices for passengers on Aircraft - for a fee of course. I'd love to play a
flight sim while flying :P

------
gms
Can somebody explain if this would be any different to the internet offered by
Virgin America?

