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May 13, 2008

Wee-Fi: iPass Flies; Riverside (Calif.) Approaches

By Glenn Fleishman

iPass announces roaming deal with Aircell Gogo in-flight network: Gogo isn’t yet aloft, though it’s well into testing, but iPass has a contract in hand to allow its subscribers broadband access. The press release sidesteps cost, and an iPass spokesperson clarified for me that pricing hasn’t yet been determined; additional fees will be required, but how much isn’t yet set. Given that Aircell has spoken about fees of about $10 to $12 for cross-country flights, iPass can’t include unlimited service at a fixed rate, I wouldn’t think. But many terrestrial venues charge $7 to $12 for 24 hours access and iPass, Boingo, and other retailer partners pay those venues as little as 50 cents per session. (Correction: This item originally stated that iPass wasn’t planning at this time to charge for Gogo service. That was an error: iPass hasn’t yet set the fees, but expects to charge something on top of their flat rate.)

Riverside network should launch soon: I recall a ribbon (or cable) cutting ceremony for AT&T’s MetroFi-built Riverside, Calif., network some time ago, but the full launch beyond a trial network in 2007 appears ready to go by the end of May. The network was originally billed as planning to cover the 80+ sq mi of the city; this article says just 55 will be covered. And AT&T’s local project manager told the audience at a training session, that the service is “mainly meant for outdoor use.” Huh. Service is free with ads at a rate that’s not easily found (512 Kbps?); a premium ad-free service at 1 Mbps is free to AT&T’s 1.5 Mbps or faster DSL subscribers and fiber users, as well as by paying a monthly rate that isn’t yet disclosed. The 24-hour rate is a crazily high $7.99.

Posted by Glennf at May 13, 2008 10:15 AM

Categories: Air Travel, Municipal

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