Internet Access On Airplanes. a good thing or a bad thing?

[iGuest 3]

Today, I recieved an e-mail from CNet, one of the top IT news and information Websites, discussing a recent technological issue from a social perspective. It was fun to read, and it was even more fun to consider what you guys might think about it. Here's what the e-mail said:

 

Good news--fast Internet connections aboard U.S. commercial airline flights will be coming to you sooner than you think, as two companies just last Friday won licenses for airborne communications services. This means that in a few years (yes, a few years, it's not as simple as setting up your Wi-Fi at home), we all could be sitting on a long cross-country flight and surfing the Internet to keep our boredom at bay.

 

Personally, I could get some work done, e-mail some friends, or even do some research about the destination-to-be. Doesn't this just sound wonderful?! I can't wait! Well, it was exciting until I read Editor Matt Lake's latest On the Dot article, "I'm the Internet. Fly me," where he talks about the details of how Internet on airplanes has to leap through both technological and social hurdles.

 

For me, having technology available is great, but the social hurdles are what get me. I could imagine sitting on deck--to the right of me, Mr. Keyboard Pecker makes it sound like Morse code is back in style, while to the left of me, Mr. Gamer can't keep his swearing under his breath because he just got fragged. Then let's talk about the teenage girl behind me, who's using Skype to talk to her boyfriend...OK, if that how it's going to be, FORGET it!

 

Now that I painted a picture for you of my imagined experience, please disregard it, and tell us how you feel about having Internet access on airplanes. Would you use it during your flight if it were available? Or do you think we'd all be better completely without it?

So alright. The articles says that this fast aero-Internet connection is still a U.S. issue, but no doubt that very soon it's going to be a world-wide thing. So we all have the right to discuss it and share our thoughts about it.

 

I don't think anyone would disagree that this should be a great technological advancement, and particularly one heck of a time-saver for business oriented folk. So it's not the technological aspect I'm worried about .

 

Like the article writer said, the social aspect might be the problem. I for one have a definite problem with it. I can't stand listening to people yapping about all day long, and I consider the time I spend flying a somewhat peaceful time-out. Some of you may share the same view, and some may be thrilled to the prospect of listening to other people's private conversations .

 

So what's your take on this? Do you think there should be certain limits on the activities for which aeroplanes Internet connections could be used, or would that be too much of a personal freedom invasion? Are there other problems that might arise? Or is the social annoyance factor being blown way out of proportion?

 

I will peronsally wait before sharing my own thoughts on this until I hear what you guys have to say about it .

[Chesso 0]

Well personally I am afraid of heights and have never been on a place before and will hopefully never have to :(But that aside, for people that don't feel like sleeping on a plain trip or need to get some work done online or otherwise it's a great idea, if for some reason they require audio loud or otherwise they can just use headphones right?I don't see why this would pose any real social problems, I don't think many people socialize on a plane anyway.....And I don't know if it's available for portable computers or what ever such airlines will have available, but one of those screens or add-ons that make it difficult for someone to see what's on your computer screen unless they are directly infront of it would be a nice idea aswell.

[yeh 0]

Or is the social annoyance factor being blown way out of proportion?

Yup... definitely blown out of proportion. I'm not sure whether we are in the same countries but I don't think talking on the handphone in the bus, subway or train is not permissible. And if a bunch of people were to be talking at the same time, it can be kinda noisy.

But I guess it won't be that big a deal yet. After all, phones are already available on planes. I have seen some of them on my flights but have never used them. Guess the charges are high. And I am pretty sure the charges for internet access would be high too at first.

If someone were to suggest banning internet access for gamers becoz it might get out of control, maybe they should suggest banning alcohol first. Incidents of passengers getting drunk and rowdy is not unheard of.

[Quatrux 4]

The idea is good, because when you fly on a plane, there is usually nothing to do, especially if you're alone, without any friends or family members, but I always think that talking with somebody near a cup of tea is much better than through a computer screen on some chat.. I personally got used to talk with my brother through IRC even though he is in the other room, if he is offline I just write him an SMS, but of course if I need to talk about serious things, I do it by real chat.. I think that alienation is quite a big problem in our society, I would prefer to talk with somebody near me on a plane during the flight rather than browse the Internet, but in my opinion if I had access to it, I would use it.. So this would make as even more alienated. Besides, on the planes wireless connection would be used and everyone knows that it is not save to use it, so I don't think it would be a good idea to login somewhere with your password and username without SSL (If you want to check/read and reply your emails) Furthermore it wouldn't be recommended to make bank transfers too, well I think you know what I mean. Don't you feel somehow strange when someone near you is watching what you're doing on the computer ? I feel strange and usually don't do anything, maybe this is just me.. I can't stand if somebody is behind my back, I feel outstretched so chatting with someone when some guy is sitting near me is strange and uncomfortable. To tell the truth I don't even like to listen to people when they are speaking on the mobiles phones in a bus or trolleybus. Nevertheless, its a good idea to have Internet access on a plane, it might shorten the trip and kill your boredom.

[Chesso 0]

Our society is being alienated because believe it or not quite a few actually want it, I seriously wish I could walk down the street alone most of the time. It's real annoying to have blank stares as people walk past all the time it gets on my nerves and difficult to look else where when it makes it so obvious heh.On a plane though your'e obviously not going to talk to someone twice your'e age or is asleep or busy etc. If people want to talk face to face bad enough they will do it.

[aught5 0]

I can see it now: clueless CEO's asking flight attendants why can't they get access to their e-mail. Or maybe it already happens now with cell phones. I'm guessing there will be a hefty fee for coach class, perhaps a bit less for business, and then free for those lucky enough to be in front of the curtain.

[Houdini 0]

I figure that I must enter this discussion concerning wireless usage on an airplane. Cell phone usage was originally banned stating that it could intefere with the communication of the aircraft itself which could be bad in certain scenarios, but it is actully because of how radio waves work and antennas. If you own a dish then your dish is recieving signals of 5 watt transmission from a satellite about 11 miles above the earth. This forms a footprint (area of coverage) of the radio signal being broadcast from the satellite. The reason the satellite is at 11 miles above the earth is to keep it in a geostationary orbit (it stays in the same place at all times).Now if you are in an aircraft transmitting a radio signal above the earth at lets say 5,000 feet then the ability of those cell site towers that recieve the signal from your personal handset will increase with a gain in altitude. This is because the signal from a cellphone or any radio transmission is normally omnidirectional (it radites is all directions) so to illustrate I will make a crude example below...............................A...........................|^.....|^....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^......|^..... 5,000 ft......................................................................A.................................................................................|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|^.....|15-25,000 ftThe ....A.... represents the antenna in the aircraft.The |^ would be towers that recieve and then retransmit those signals that are coming from a radio source. These are spaced along the terrain at stragegic points to provide the most coverage for those that are on the surface of the earth (not in the air), since these signals are omnidirectional then there needs to be a cell cite every so often to recieve and retransmit the signal, however in an aircraft it is simple to transmit to a tower (in this case several towers) and the signal will then go to the desired destination. What I am saying is that using radio telemetry in an aircraft would be enhanced as opposed to using a handheld cellphone in a tunnel and mor likely to work properly without a dropped signal than if you were walking around your own neighboorhood.

[evion 0]

Wow Houdini, your explanation awed me. I didn't really think about it that way. But let me clarify something, you'r saying a cellphone signal would be much higher in the airplane than down on the ground? Does that also mean airplanes can pick up wireless signals emitted from towers on the ground easily? I'm not exactly sure of your conclusion.Regarding the issue of internet on planes, has anyone thought of the cost of all this? I'm guessing the first few airlines acquiring internet access on their planes will only enable it on the first or business class sections of the airplanes. Well, of course there is no doubt about this if you think about it. But I've been riding Singapore Airlines since eternity because of their mini computer station on each seat of their planes, which always keeps me busy be it having to watch movies, listen to music, playing sucky nintendo games, or just watching the realtime geographical location of the plane on a map move. All other airlines I've sat never had this feature. I think the idea of having paid wireless internet access on planes will have a higher chance of occuring than free internet access, thus being a waste of money.

[roggle 0]

Regarding the alienation issue, I know what you guys are talking about. I am actually generally quite a solitary creature and although when I go out I get along well I don't really seek out people in situations like planes and stuff. A lot of the times I enjoy my privacy and enjoy time by myself. It's not that I am antisocial, just that in this fast paced world surrounded with people you often to have to find privacy anyway you can even if it is in the toilet.However I do not think internet on the plane would increase this alienation. If you want to be left alone, you will be left alone, if you want to know people, you'll get to know them. Somehow I think inflight movies already have the same effect as to what internet access would do.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

This isn't really new, but maybe in the US.In Toronto (where I am), the VIVA Rapid-Transit Bus Service, they are testing free WIFI on the buses while on the go, so WIFI in transportation isn't really a new thing.xboxrulz

[roggle 0]

This isn't really new, but maybe in the US.
In Toronto (where I am), the VIVA Rapid-Transit Bus Service, they are testing free WIFI on the buses while on the go, so WIFI in transportation isn't really a new thing.

xboxrulz

Is it WiFi or WiMax? Cause WiFi's range is really short. Is Toronto going to be a fully wireless enabled city like San Francisco?

[iGuest 3]

This isn't really new, but maybe in the US.
In Toronto (where I am), the VIVA Rapid-Transit Bus Service, they are testing free WIFI on the buses while on the go, so WIFI in transportation isn't really a new thing.

xboxrulz

That's true, xboxrulz. But neither I nor the article author are really concerned with the novelty of the concept, but rather with the social implication that may or may not be associated with it. To be precise, the reason I wrote about this was to know how you guys would feel if an aeroplane suddenly turned into a flying cyber-cafe?

Would you be annoyed with the kid behind voice-chatting with his/her buddy? Would you want to jump the man in the grey suit sitting next to you, tapping on the keyboard so loudly you can almost hear the plastic cracking? What about the air-attendants having to answer all kinds of technical questions which they shouldn't, but probably will be forced to?

Is there a way to handle all this, so that we could enjoy the advantages of technology without worrying about its hassles? Or does any of that even bother you at all?

That's what I'd really like to know .

Oh, and I thank everyone who contributed here. Your input is very interesting and most certainly helpful .


Regards,
Mobham
Edited June 11, 2006 by isMobham (see edit history)

[Grafitti 0]

Why not? I sure would love to have free internet on the plane. Maybe they could forbid voice-chatting. Or if you want to get internet access on the plane you have to request it in advance, like you do if you want a special meal. and you get a login ID for the flight. that way you can't get on if you haven't requested it previously, and the airline personell can seat all those internet hungry people together in the back of the plane. If it's made clear there's no tech support, the stews should have it a bit easier. i like my idea.

[Albus Dumbledore 0]

internet access on a plane, lol thats kool...and pretty much allready possible...just hook your computer up to your cellphone when the pilot says you can turn on electronic devices...and it may be a little slow, but its still internet.... but i think it would be better if they put t1 into wireless access for people on the plane

[abhiram 0]

Oh boy! I'm terribly out of place in this conversation. The minute I saw this thread's name, I was like (in my typical South Indian attitude ) "Can't people live without internet for even a couple of hours?"The first time I've ever been on a flight was in January in this year only because the company I'm gonna join in August wanted all the new recruits from all over India to come over and take a look at the office in Mumbai. Of course it was only an hour's flight, and I got the seat next to the window .... it was pretty cool . Otherwise, been in travelling in trains all my life.Now coming back to the topic of internet, we've already got wifi in the airports and movies and songs in the flight. Is internet even necessary? In my opinion, even cell phones aren't really that necessary on a plane. From what I know, planes have had telephones for emergency purposes (at exorbitant prices of course) for quite some time now. Can't you stay out of touch with your loved ones for a few hours? Ok, maybe this is from the perspective of one who thinks flying is a big deal, but frequent flyers, people who fly 4-5 times a week can probably think of better ways to pass the time than internet and constant business calls. Look ... it's an excuse to have some time off from the crazy cell phone and non-stop emails from your colleagues. After all that's what you do all the time you're not on a flight ... "I'm in a plane, I'll get back to you in 3 hours" . That's the time you get to yourself ... maybe read a book, or watch some TV or listen to some music and just relax. I'm sure the Business Class is better than the Economy Class. A few hours without intenet and cellphones isn't going to kill all those CEOs!No offense to anyone .

Edited June 19, 2006 by abhiram (see edit history)