* The ups and downs of wireless Internet access on the road
After a week of travel across Europe, Larry was both frustrated with broadband access and then pleasantly surprised to discover additional broadband locations available to the road warrior.
On the frustrated side, Larry discovered that wireless broadband access in Paris meant IP sessions which followed the performance curves of a yo-yo. In Munich, it meant sharing proximity to the hotel’s only wireless access point with Octoberfest revelers and the oom-pah-pah band. And in London, it meant broadband access via WebTV, making VPN connections impossible.
On the positive side, Larry discovered 802.11 wireless access at 20M bit/sec is now available on selected Lufthansa flights between Germany and North America. Lufthansa and Boeing have teamed up to provide Internet connectivity via satellite directly to the plane, and an onboard transceiver allows shared access to the 20M bit/sec connection. The connection is provided through a purpose-built antenna attached to the airplane fuselage and contact is maintained via 10 geostationary satellites 36,000 kilometers up.
The service is priced at $9.95 for one half hour, or a flat rate of $30 for the entire length of the flight. While the service is only available today on limited destinations between the U.S. and Germany, according to a Lufthansa spokesman the airline plans to add southern hemisphere connectivity next year, and will continue with deployments for trans-European flights shortly thereafter.
Maybe on the next trip to Europe, Larry can get his work done on the plane and join in the Octoberfest revelry. And we are both anxious to check out real-time Internet-based services like Skype, instant messaging and application sharing at 35,000 feet. We’ll keep you posted on the results.
