don't let the muggles get you down iphone case

In-flight Wi-Fi is outrageously expensive. Gogo, the largest US provider of in-flight Wi-Fi, typically charges $14 for an all-day pass, $49 for a monthly pass, and $39 for a monthly pass on your airline of choice. Aside from running a business, there are two reasons why Gogo charges so darn much. For starters, the steep prices are intended to offend passengers so much that most of them won't purchase the service. Seriously. Gogo can only support so many passengers, so the costly barrier to entry keeps the number of simultaneous users down.

Secondly, Gogo's costs are quite expensive, According to Gigaom, it's estimated that each megabyte delivered costs Gogo about 20 cents, With these high costs, Gogo sets such prohibitive prices just to keep up, (Alas, it turns out the company has yet to report a profit.), Pro tip: For starters, shop ahead for in-flight don't let the muggles get you down iphone case Wi-Fi, You'll often find passes available at discounted rates through your airline or a promotion from the Wi-Fi provider, For example, American Airlines is currently advertising a 2-for-$20 special on all-day passes..

Another way to get a better deal is to trick the Internet provider into thinking you're on mobile. Some providers, like Gogo, charge less for mobile access based on your browser ID. So, before your flight, install the User Agent Switcher for Chrome or Firefox and set it to mobile. Netflix or Hulu? Forget it. Downloading an iPad game? Nope. Just before you purchase Wi-Fi, you'll get a small notification warning you that services like these are unavailable. It's not that the provider doesn't want you to have fun, or make flying more intolerable than it already is -- the bandwidth simply isn't there.

According to Gogo, its most-implemented in-flight Wi-Fi technology, Air To Ground, maxes out at 3.1Mbps, Its next-generation don't let the muggles get you down iphone case tech, currently in about 300 airplanes, peaks at about 9.8Mbps, Now, take that 3.1Mbps speed and divide among every passenger who purchased access, There's your speed, It's like dial-up, With a little chutzpah, Pro tip: If you'd like to squeeze in a movie or TV show between work assignments, download the files ahead of time, To our dismay, there simply aren't any workarounds -- any time the Wireless Access Point detects a data-heavy transaction, the activity will immediately be stopped, That goes for streaming media, large downloads, and even VoIP services like Skype..

That might change soon, though. Gogo is expected to announce a new satellite-based service in September that will increase the maximum bandwidth per passenger. Once you're paid for and online, in-flight Wi-Fi functions like an unsecured network -- it's unencrypted, leaving you with zero protection from anyone else on the plane. It's unlikely an aircraft will be a hacker's choice location for data-snooping, but this lack of security makes it relatively easy for those experienced to gain access to your Web activity.