Lufthansa is launching W-Fi and GSM access on its intercontinental flights

It seems those offline breaks you had to take during long flights are coming to an end, as Lufthansa is launching a Wi-Fi service on its intercontinental flights. The servie, aptly called FlyNet, will be available for free until the end of January 2011 and will expand on all the company’s intercontinental flights throughout 2011.
FlyNet will be available on long-haul flights (initially only those across the Atlantic) and the Airbus A330 will be the first aircraft to get the needed tech and licenses.
After January 2011, the service will cost €11 per hour or €20 for 24 hours, which sounds reasonable as some three and four star hotels in Europe can charge you that amount for internet access in your room.
As Engadget reports the promised speed is indeed very good – the download rate reached 5Mbps, while the upload – 1Mbps.
Lufthansa is also preparing to launch GSM/GPRS access on those flights in the spring of 2011 so you would be able to send and receive text messages and use your data plan during the flight.
source: Lufthansa and Blog Gsmarena