Glenn makes sense of this "Wi-Fi in the air" story.

The FCC didn't just suddenly decide to allow Wi-Fi on planes. Two years ago, the FCC lobbied the ITU to allocate global satellite spectrum specifically for the purpose of providing in-flight broadband. This is not news. The news now is that the FCC will be allowing a different form of backhaul (ground to air) to the planes.

The real reason we haven't see Wi-Fi on domestic flights yet is lack of resources and vision. Domestic airlines are terrified of any new cost, regardless of whether or not they may actually profit from it. They'll come to their senses after one of the more aggressive carriers (Jet Blue?) starts deploying Wi-Fi. I also look forward to seeing data from Lufthansa that shows they are nabbing customers from competing carriers based solely on their Wi-Fi service.

And there are other, equally compelling, reasons why I believe airlines will ultimately adopt wireless broadband backhaul to their jets: telemedicine, real-time aircraft monitoring, VoIP, security, content. Like any other commercial venue, wirleess broadband in general and Wi-Fi in particular will serve many audiences and many needs.

What I want to see discussed is the use of VoIP over Wi-Fi on aircraft.
VoIP is currently allowed on at least some of the aircraft using Connexion by Boeing and yet we have the FCC taking a year to study cellular phone use on aircraft. What happens when your cellular phone has Wi-Fi embedded in it? Will a flight attendant tell you not to use your phone even if you're only using Wi-Fi?