Gogo in-flight Internet is the leading company to bring web connectivity to passengers on airplanes, and now it is taking it a step further by enabling phone calls and texting on board.
Gogo has a new “Talk & Text” program that will allow passengers to have regular cell phone capabilities in the air through a smartphone app.
As reported by theverge.com:
“Gogo’s in-flight Wi-Fi is starting to roll out a major new feature: the ability to send and receive text messages and phone calls while up in the air. Call and texts over Gogo’s new Talk & Text service have to be made through its upcoming iOS or upcoming Android app, but Gogo says that they’ll all be made using the phone’s own number, so nothing will change for people who contact you. The feature isn’t available on any consumer flights just yet — though it recently launched with a few business partners — but Gogo says that it’s in talks to get it up and running on commercial airlines by the end of this year or the first quarter of 2014.
“Gogo’s chief marketing officer, Ash Eldifrawi, says that the company expects most people to use the service for text messaging.
“‘While we see this as more of a text messaging product for commercial airlines in the United States, the phone functionality is something that some international air carriers and our business aviation customers are asking for,’ Eldifrawi says in a statement.
“A representative explained to The Verge that its airline partners, like Delta and American Airlines, are not interested in bringing in-flight phone calls to their planes — and it’s not hard to imagine why. Indeed, Gogo already blocks Skype and other such services from using its Internet in the skies at the request of such airlines, and the company does not expect to launch its voice services on any domestic flights.”
The company has not yet released a pricing strategy for its new Talk & Text program, aside from saying that customers be charged roaming fees while on the network.
It will be interesting to see how quickly Gogo’s Talk & Text plan catches on. Messaging services like Whatsapp, iMessage and Google Hangouts all work on a plane with the use of Wi-Fi, so it may be pointless for someone with a smartphone to purchase a separate plan to text. And with the commercial airlines understandably against the voice-calling feature Gogo’s Talk & Text may not be of major importance to customers.
