Are you one of those people who streams non-locally hosted videos on GoGo? If so, YOU (and people like you) are the problem. My checking of email, FlyerTalk and reading the news isn't seriously affecting throughput :td:

I wish GoGo would block Youtube, Netflix, and Hulu, along with the other major streaming sites.

No, I don't but only because GoGo is incapable of doing so. My point here is that if you are going to charge me $15 for a 2.5 hour segment, do me the courtesy of having a high speed connection so that i can fully use the Internet

If the goal is to only provide email and basic textual web based support, then lower the rate.

Pick one or the other. They charge premium prices to deliver a sub standard product which is why their adoption rate is so low

My observations have to do SOLELY with the REASONS that their adoption rate is so low. If the GoGo guys are wondering why 92% of the fliers do not want to use them, they should look at my list.

You will always have some people (myself included in certain circumstances) that will pay ANY price for an internet connection. However, much as Motorola learned with Iridium, that does not make for a scalable business model. That is what is called a "niche market"

It is NOT technology that is holding GoGo back. It is instead, a lack of planning and poor marketing.

I agree. Part of the attraction of inflight wifi should be the ability to stream your own movies and entertainment, particularly when the AA in flight entertainment being provided is limited (how many times do you really want to watch We Bought A Zoo.) If GoGo is going to only provide for basic Internet support, lower the rate. But I would think most want the ability to entertain themselves in air other than cruising the Internet.

Gogo simply does not have the bandwidth to allow a large number of passengers to stream non-locally hosted video. Their solution is to offer the Entertainment On Demand service which allows streaming of locally hosted content to laptops and iOS/Android tablets. I don't understand why they should lower their rate because we can't watch Netflix/Hulu, considering they have always stated that the system is not designed to handle that.

This is how the under 30-35 crowd entertains itself. Go on any Bolt Bus between major East Coast cities, which is full of young professionals, and everyone is watching their own downloads or posting on social media sites. If Gogo really will need to have the bandwitdth to capture this crowd and their desire to use the Internet their way.

And a lot of road warriors are often in this group before they are to the point they want to stay home more with a growing family.

BrewerSEA,

Again, no one is DEMANDING anything. We are in a free market and the market is making its choices in NOT adopting GoGo

All my post (and NY George's reply) are saying is that if you want to charge high prices, then provide HIGH level of service.

The on-server content on GoGo is NOT free. It is an ADDITIONAL charge. Hulu is free.

Regarding bandwidth, again, it is NOT a technical issue, it is a purely business decision.

GoGo as a free American enterprise can do whatever they want. As a very pro capitalist person myself I support their right to set whatever rules they want.

However, on the flip side, as a free market person, I (along with 92% of other fliers) are also making a choice not to use them

At the end of the day, with this current business model, they will fail as a company as revenues won't match expenses. When they sit down and do a post mortem, they should spare 2 seconds to see the feedback from the customers.

Cheers!

That is how I use technology when traveling as well (I am in my 20s). There is simply no financially viable way for Gogo to significantly increase throughput in the short term while still operating on EVDO based networks. Gogo announced that this year they would upgrade to EVDO Rev. B, which they estimate will quadruple available throughput. Long term they plan to transition to LTE which could theoretically offer up to about 100mbps. This is a few years down the line.

Netflix streams movies in HD at 3.8mbps and in SD at around 700kbps. One source I found says their EVDO Rev. A network provides 3.1mbps to each plane. Even quadruple that and you can see how restricted they are.

See my above post, it really is a technical issue.

I definitely agree with you vis-à-vis market conditions and am sorry if I came off as a bit hostile, that was not my intention :)

Whether Aircell will ever be profitable is certainly up in the air ;)

No, you did not come off as hostile. In fact I love discussions on FT that are more than one liners and actually have content. Thank you for engaging in a good discussion. Much appreciated.

You are on point regarding EV-DO, as far as what GoGo is CURRENTLY doing.

However, my point is that GoGo made a bad business decision to begin with if they thought that having a 3 MB PER plane total bandwidth was a smart idea.

That was NOT how it was sold initially. While you have some valid points on Hulu etc, 3 MB max throughput per plane makes even downloading some large corporate emails (evils of Powerpoint and Excel :) ) a chore

Like I said, GoGo themselves are to blame for their initial investment decisions and how they marketed it. They could have easily marketed it as a bandwidth limited email and textual web service (a la Cathay in the old days over the Pacific). Instead they sold it as broadband (emphasis on broad) and under delivered

Now, the free market is punishing them and adoption rates are low. If scuttlebutt on these boards and PPrune and A.net is to be believed, many airlines are reconsidering this entire enterprise.

Again, all GoGo had to do was look at Iridium. If Iridium had been priced "right" (let us say at 40 cents a minute), they could have been a lot more successful rather than being just a niche market for the military and some sailors

Thank you all for your feedback! We targeted the complimentary Wi-Fi campaign to a very small audience and it won’t compromise current Inflight Wi-Fi speeds.

I sure wish I had been one of the people in that small targeted audience ;)

As I told Gogo in my "disconnect" conversation of my monthly plan last week :

• The fact that the service was not pervasive on all routes/planes already made the monthly plan less than cost-effective. I fly between 40-60 segments a year.
• The added fact that there are now "promotions" offering Elite flyers up to 40 sessions/year meant that I was paying $480 that similar flyers were getting gratis. That just make me feel foolish.

It remains to be seen how 40 free sessions are going to make Elite flyers sign-up for more. A broader tiered discount strategy would make much more sense; but then I did stay at a Holiday Express last night. :D

Beer Hunter: You're in the same boat as my boyfriend. I got the Gogo e-mail but currently have a monthly pass and he does not but did not receive it.

The quality of wifi on Bolt Bus and Megabus is atrocious, worse than Gogo. Perhaps it has improved dramatically in the last year, but I have never have not experienced a good connection on Megabus since I took it on Labor Day weekend of 2009. But between NYC and Boston, and NYC and Albany, I have never had even a decent connection.

Been with GOGO since 09.. been a monthly subscriber for years and given the amount of segments I fly, it seems to have been worth it for what I use it for..

but if it gets any slower on flights, I just may cancel the plan and start drinking on my flights.