Amended to include update...
A portion of this morning's CBS Early Show was broadcast live via Aircell's Gogo in-flight Internet service from a Virgin America flight out of Boston.
Yep, Branson was on the plane.
We know the Gogo system can handle a live broadcast. Late last year, the first ever air-to-ground (ATG) video stream occurred on a Virgin America aircraft as part of a big YouTube Live event in San Francisco.
But I find the timing of today's CBS broadcast interesting. It comes just days after Southwest Airlines began commercial trials of Row 44's Ku-band-based connectivity system, which has been billed by the California-based firm as better and faster than ATG.
Maybe just maybe Aircell is trying to tell us something.
Here's what an Aircell spokesman had to say about the conventional wisdom that satellite-based connectivity is superior to ATG.
"In terms of the debate between satellite and ATG, remember that we have many years of experience working with satellite and still chose ATG as the better economic and technical choice for the US."
Next month, an entire Early Show will be done in the air! But here's the broadcast from this morning:
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