Wifi on planes is an absolutely fantastic idea.
It will do incredibly well for SWA. If you make it free for 3 Mbytes / passenger / flight hour, and pay as you go beyond that (per flight or per month), you can provide a nice blend of service w/ fee.
When people ask about laptop power, look at the emerging technology of PoE+, or power over ethernet plus. IEEE 802.3at.
In a couple of years, we will be ridding ourselves of those proprietary laptop power bricks, and using power over ethernet ports to provide charging power. The system is sufficiently intelligent that it can manage power in an avionics environment, and the weight / seat is less than existing flight rated power systems.
The cabling qualifies as safety low voltage, is 100% electrically protected, short circuit protected, you name it... widely available in plenium rated... and looks exactly the same as the Ethernet jack in most offices.
Thank you,
Mark
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