Gogo Wi-Fi not in flight, but on the ground

Internet access on airplanes via Wi-Fi is very exciting. My initial experience wasn't great, but now that I know more about it, I can't wait to listen to my favorite radio stations via streaming audio (and earphones) while in the air.

Gogo, the ground to air network from Aircell that Delta employs, uses a Wi-Fi network name (SSID) of "gogoinflight" which you can see below in the list of Wi-Fi networks that my Windows XP laptop found on my first Gogo enabled flight.

I recently noted the presence of the gogoinflight Wi-Fi network in a Delta airlines terminal despite the fact that the network is supposed to only operate above 10,000 feet.

According to Dave Bijur, Director, Airline Solutions at Aircell

The SSIDs are always activated, even when the aircraft is sitting at the gate. When sitting in the terminal near a plane, it's possible to detect the signal.  But if you had tried to log on, you would have noticed there's no Internet available.  Yes, you can connect - but no, you cannot get online.  Once the aircraft hits 10,000 feet, the onboard GPS (which is part of our installation) essentially lets the Internet into the cabin.

Still, travelers should avoid connecting to any "gogoinflight" Wi-Fi network they pick up in the airport. It may not be as harmless as Bijur makes it sound.

When a wireless network is created, you can give it any name at all. Unlike domain names on the Internet (such as computerworld.com) there is no central registry of Wi-Fi network names. Nothing prevents bad guys from creating a Wi-Fi network named "gogoinflight". The total lack of documentation about Gogo, that I ran into, only makes this more likley. Connect to a phony "gogoinflight" network and very bad things can happen.

This really needs to be publicized, especially since the Gogo network is growing.

American airlines started with 15 Gogo enabled planes as a trial and just announced that they are expanding Internet access to over 300 "domestic aircraft" (the Gogo network is only available in the U.S.), a rollout that they expect to take 2 years.

Delta is much more the frequent flyer with Gogo. As of last week, they already had it installed on 77 planes and they were rolling it out at the rate of two planes a day. According to Delta's blog it takes them only 12 hours to install the Gogo hardware in a plane.  

I didn't get as far as using the service, as I'm hesitant to enter sensitive information on an open Wi-Fi network even with HTTPS security. But you can sign up either on the ground or in the air.

Gogo charges (all prices are rounded up) laptop users $13  on flights lasting longer than three hours and $10 on shorter flights. They also support smartphones and PDAs whose smaller screen qualifies for a lower price, only $8.

Even without paying, Gogo provides access to Delta.com, aircell.com, gogoinflight.com and a few Wall Street Journal stories (as teasers). I wasn't able to test the network speed, but pages on these sites all displayed quickly.