G-Connect in-flight Internet pricing plans

I will probably never use it at that price. I can wait until I get into the airport. FAIL.
 
R1 a minute?? wow.

I just got an Axxess wifi hotspot account, its relatively cheap and they work wherever AlwaysOn and Hotcity have gateways.
 
ConsiderThis said:
Good luck with that. IS (who has the ACSA hotspots) charges R1 a minute. In-flight will be cheaper.
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I have my own 3G, for on the move travel. :p

I'm happy with it. Not gonna pay anyone else on top of that.

It's expensive enough as it is.
 
i want a global provider, who gives you seamless connectivity in any country on the planet via wifi or modem plugged into any line for less than the price of normal 3G. at 3G speeds.

yeah i know, dream on :)
 
rurapente said:
Yeah but if you research its a bit of a "con" firstly its not exactly real-time for security reasons and secondly at some point they lose comms to the base systems (because they're not using sattelite all the time, or its expensive i think Air France said) so the system extrapolates where it is using its last recorded speed and heading.

For example, when you drive your Garmin through a tunnel, its not getting a feed, but its "guessing" based on where it thinks you shuold be going, coupled with your speed and shows you going through the tunnel.

Try this - go into a tunnel at say 80kph. and in the middle - break and stop dead. you'll see it carries on extrapolating your position and moves you out of the tunnel - looks for the live coords which it doesnt get then realizes you didnt exit the tunnel and fails :)

Now imagine a plane's position being extrapolated while its doing over 900kph. If it doesnt show up where the system expects it - you have no clue where it is.
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GPS tracking is not expensive. Satellite commincations are. Either way, satellite comms is not that expensive otherwise Telkom and Sentech wouldn't be able to afford consumer products in their offerings. Last time I checked, it was the region of R1300 pm for 512Mb 3Gb traffic on Telkom's ripoff model... Surely the airlines can afford that.
 
ConsiderThis said:
Good luck with that. IS (who has the ACSA hotspots) charges R1 a minute. In-flight will be cheaper.
Click to expand...

When you are at Changi Airport in Singapore, there are computer stands everywhere where you can surf the internet for free. If you've got you own laptop, you simply go to Information and collect your username and password and you get free internet on the airport. All you need to do to claim you free internet voucher is to show your passport. Thats the way its supposed to be.
 
rurapente said:
Yeah but if you research its a bit of a "con" firstly its not exactly real-time for security reasons and secondly at some point they lose comms to the base systems (because they're not using sattelite all the time, or its expensive i think Air France said) so the system extrapolates where it is using its last recorded speed and heading.

For example, when you drive your Garmin through a tunnel, its not getting a feed, but its "guessing" based on where it thinks you shuold be going, coupled with your speed and shows you going through the tunnel.

Try this - go into a tunnel at say 80kph. and in the middle - break and stop dead. you'll see it carries on extrapolating your position and moves you out of the tunnel - looks for the live coords which it doesnt get then realizes you didnt exit the tunnel and fails :)

Now imagine a plane's position being extrapolated while its doing over 900kph. If it doesnt show up where the system expects it - you have no clue where it is.
Click to expand...

I know the top end tomtom's have a built in accelerometer to more accurately track you in tunnels or when you lose signal. Don't see why planes can't have the same. I'd imagine they would anyway but have no idea what they do or don't have.
 
murraybiscuit said:
afaik satellite latency is pretty high, so i don't think streaming anything live - like voip is going to be feasible. youtube perhaps as asynchronous streaming doesn't really matter.
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An important factor to consider when looking at the Row 44 solution is that is a converged, unified solution offering more than just internet connectivity. Firstly, the base package does IP connectivity, and the average download stream is about 3mbps per plane. Secondly, it offers multicasting, so "Pay TV" providers can stream live TV to everyone on board and not effect this bandwidth (expect to see Multichoice or similar offer a range of Live TV channels accessible via an IPTV client). It can also stream stored content like pay per view movies off the local server. Thirdly, it offers Pica Cell connectivity on the 3G bands for cellphone network extention via seperate channels (similar in concept to how WiMax does it). Voice over Cell networks is available in the stock config, it is industry regulation that will dictate whether it is provided or not.

The great thing with the Row 44 solution is that it completely changes the IFE landscape for airlines. They no longer need to install their own (expensive) seatback PTVs. They provide the connectivity, a dock on the back of your seat, and you "bring your own". The weight savings are immense with this approach, and in the airline world, weight is everything (because of the fuel used to lug the dead weight around). In practice, think of it this way (and this a conceptual example only) : You get onboard the plane, whip out your iPad, and dock it into the seatback in front of you. You turn it on and join the wireless network. You then open the airline app that you have downloaded from the iTunes store, and it connects you to the onboard server. From here, you can chose to watch an on demand movie from the local catalogue, or simply choose a live TV broadcast. If you need to check your email, you open your mail client, and it uses the credentials you supplied to the app to give you IP connectivity and your mail streams in. All from your own device, with your own personalisation etc etc. Its a far better IFE solution than even the best Panasonic or Thales systems can offer. The chances are that you have an iPad/iPhone/Laptop with you, so the airline is not adding additional weight.

As a side note - latency is not as bad as some people think. There are latency reducing strategies such as Riverbed that can make the user experience far more pleasant. Expect the bandwidth to be HIGHLY shaped and all porn filtered ;)
 
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