Voice Duck » Internet Access

Airlines that offer Wi-Fi networks

Joe Pawlikowski — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:58:59 +0000

If you follow Twitter and Facebook, you might notice an odd phenomenon lately. People you know are mid-flight, or who mention that they’re mid flight, are, well announcing that they’re mid-flight. For essentially all of aviation’s history, passengers have had no access to communications services. A few airlines have allowed (expensive) calling services, but that’s about it. Even as cell phones became more popular, they simply were not, and are not, allowed on commercial flights. But now many carriers are offering Wi-Fi connections on flights. That means that we can use our smartphones, while in airplane mode, and laptops while we’re hurtling through the air at several hundred miles per hour. Before you go and book your airline tickets, make sure to check out this list of carriers that offer in-flight Wi-Fi.

jetBlue. While jetBlue currently does not offer onboard Wi-Fi services, it does plan to roll out a satellite-based broadband service in 2012. They haven’t said yet whether it will be free or paid.

Continental Airlines. As with jetBlue, Continental also has plans to offer in-flight Wi-Fi in 2012.

Delta. Frequent travelers get deals on in-flight Wi-Fi with Delta. A monthly pass costs $34.95, and an annual pass costs $399.95. For infrequent travelers, 24 hours of Wi-Fi costs $11.65.

Southwest. While not all Southwest flights are WiFi enabled, those that are offer service for just $5 per flight. That’s a per-device cost, so it’s more economical to connect a device that can act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, thereby enabling other devices to connect. (Example: connecting Android smartphone and creating a hotspot for your laptop.)

United Airlines. United Airlines offers WiFi on only a few flights, which are mainly those between New York and either San Francisco or Los Angeles. Rates do vary depending on flight time, but it can typically cost between $10 and $50 — sorry that it’s not a more helpful range.

Virgin America. Virgin America offers Wi-Fi connections for both laptops and handheld devices. Prices for laptops range between $5 and $15, depending on length of flight. A monthly pass costs $35. Handheld devices cost either $5 for flights under 90 minutes, and $8 for flights over that range.

Airlines that offer Wi-Fi networks

Airport WiFi Not a Reliable Option for Business Travelers

voiceduck — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:11:03 +0000

One of the biggest obstacles of bringing your laptop on a business trip can be finding a spot to connect to WiFi, especially if you aren’t in one of the top airports that caters to tech savvy travelers. Even if you do end up in one of the more tech friendly airports, you may run into the following WiFi problems:

Free Public WiFi networks

Be wary of the so-called Free Public WiFi networks. These tend to be fake unsecured networks and by connecting to them, you run the risk of having information stolen.

Limited range

So you found a free and secured WiFi network in the airport, but that access is limited to a specific terminal or waiting area. This will become a nightmare if you share a terminal or waiting area with a screaming baby and/or someone with a bad case of gas. Trust me on this one.

You have to be a member of the club

A few airlines offer carte blanche wireless high speed internet access, but unless you’re a frequent First Class flyer or purchase a club membership, chances are you’ll never get to take advantage of this travel perk.

Your best bet

The most convenient and straightforward way to securely connect to the internet – whether in an airport or hotel – is through a mobile broadband device.

All major cell phone providers offer a wireless data service for mobile broadband capable devices including tablets, mobile hotspots, netbooks, and laptop sticks. As long as you can get a signal from your cell phone provider, you can connect to the internet from your laptop, tablet, or mobile device.

Just be sure to get an unlimited data plan, otherwise internet overage charges will burn a hole in your wallet.

Airport WiFi Not a Reliable Option for Business Travelers

DSL Facts and Information

voiceduck — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:55:42 +0000

What is Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)? Digital Subscriber Line is a technology for bringing high-speed and high-bandwidth, which is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted or received per unit time, information to homes and small businesses over ordinary copper telephone lines already installed in hundreds of millions of homes and businesses worldwide. With DSL, consumers and businesses take advantage of having a dedicated, always-on connection to the Internet.

What is the Difference between DSL vs. Cable Modem?

Cable modem services offer shared bandwidth between your and your neighbors. Your speed will vary with how many people are on the cable modem network, which may be a disadvantage. With DSL service, you have a dedicated connection to your home.

How Does DSL Service Work?

Traditional phone service connects your home or business to a telephone company office over copper wires that are wrapped around each other. The wires are called twisted pair. The digital modem, which may be purchased or rented, — located at your location — accesses the local telephone companies’ central office where a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer, which translates your DSL signal, has been installed. The signal is then transmitted from the copper telephone line onto a network backbone, and directed to the ISP’s location, where the ISP verifies the access to the network and delivers users to the Internet through the ISP’s relationship with a backbone network provider.

What Types of DSL Service are Available?

There are currently at least six different types of DSL. They are Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL), ISDN Digital Subscriber Line (IDSL), High-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL), Very high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL), and Rate-Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line (RADSL). Each one has different technical ranges, capabilities, and limitations.

ASDL
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) has different speed in both directions. Basically, with ASDL, the rate at which information transfers down is different (and usually higher) than the rate at which speed transfers up. ASDL is the most typical type of DSL found in home use because most users need to download faster than they need to upload since they do more of the former. This allows you to put most of the speed into surfing and downloading information at fast speeds.

SDSL
SDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line) has synchronous speeds. Information transfers down at the same rate that is transfers up. SDSL is a usual choice for businesses due to multiple computers usually accessing the same connection. With multiple users using an Internet connection, you can use more transfer up than that which would get used in a typical home setting where only one or a few computers would be accessing the single connection.

IDSL
IDSL (IDSN Digital Subscriber Line) also offers symmetrical transfer speeds at a fixed speed (thus limiting the choice of your speed rate to 144 Kbps). IDSL is a popular choice for users in rural areas where they are two far from a switch to obtain ADSL or SDSL, but want something faster than a V.90 connection offered by most dial up services.

HDSL
HDSL (High-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line) also offers symmetrical speeds. This is a service usually limited to commercial zones and is seen as an alternative type of T1 data transfer service. HDSL requires two phone lines to work.

VDSL
VDSL (Very High-bit-rate Digital subscriber Line) is the highest speed DSL connection, but with limited range. In order to use a VDSL connection, you need to be within a short distance from the central line.

RADSL
RADSL (Rate-Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line) is an ADSL technology that dynamically adjusts transmissions based on the line quality and the distance the transfer is traveling. RADSL, like ADSL, allows transfers to occur at different speeds in both directions.

What are the Advantages to having DSL?

Faster Speed
DSL and cable modems are much faster than analog modems. Different varieties of DSL provide different maximum speeds, from twice as fast to approximately 125 times faster than standard dial up services.

Always On
Your DSL or CM (cable modem) connection is always there. There’s no need to dial up and listen to your modem squawk. And there’s no frustration about the line dropping.

Flat Rate Service
DSL and CM typically don’t have usage-sensitive pricing, which means that the connection can be used any time for as long as you need without incurring usage charges. Technical advances enable prices to fall and gain in power, facilitating the creation and operation of global networks.

What are the Disadvantages to having DSL?

Distance
Distance between the user’s premises and phone company’s central office or cable installation is a primary factor deciding who can get these services and the speed of these services. Rural users usually can’t access ADSL and must an IDSL alternative if one is available.

Limited Competition
External providers must coordinate with local phone or cable companies to provide service, which may cause installation delays.

Security
Because DSL is always on, you may want to check with the provider about security vulnerability and precautions. DSL users should make sure they have a firewall software installed and protecting their system.

DSL Facts and Information