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Larry Magid: Gogo Expanding In-Flight Cell Phone Services

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Gogo, an in-flight internet is a company that provides Wi-Fi service to airlines, is enhancing its services to soon allow people to text and even talk on their smartphones in the air.

But will airlines allow people to actually talk on their phones while flying? Just because the technology is there and it's possible, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be accepted.

From what I understand, U.S. carriers are likely to object to the ability to actually make voice calls. Airlines have already blocked Skype from Gogo for passenger use.

Frankly, it's annoying to have a phone conversation on an airplane with the amount of people in closed quarters.

I remember in the old days there used to be air phones, but the good news was that they were so expensive that people rarely used them and when they did, they would keep the chitchat to a minimum.

But imagine with a fairly inexpensive call how annoyed you would be if someone sitting next to you on a plane was yakking away for 45 minutes. It wouldn't be very pleasant.

Texting on the other hand is whole different story. I could easily see why it would be great to get people to text more on the plane. It's popular; it's silent; so I would have no problem if someone wanted to text next to me.

Gogo Expanding In-Flight Cell Phone Services

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