In Other News: Coffee, Bandwidth Pricing, And In-Flight ConnectionsIn Other News: Coffee, Bandwidth Pricing, And In-Flight Connections

In case you were distracted by the release of the newest, cheaper version of a certain popular mobile device this week, here's a recap of wireless and broadband news you might have missed.• Searching for new sources of revenue in a time of skyrocketing fuel costs, several airlines have now committed to offering in-flight Web access in the next year, reports Wired News. Revenue from in-flight digital broadband could exceed $1 billion by 2012, according to a report from Multimedia Intelligence -- though by that time there may be no solvent airlines to actually get the planes up.

• Unsurprisingly, AT&T will slap a premium on high-traffic users of its DSL network -- i.e., P2P downloaders hoping to watch Iron Man bootlegs at home. "A form of usage-based pricing for those customers who have abnormally high usage patterns is inevitable," spokesman Michael Coe told the AP this week.

This tiered pricing model will almost certainly spill over to AT&T's wireless arm, as more heavy data users take up the new 3G iPhone and other bandwidth-thirsty devices. As overall bandwidth use on the AT&T DSL network doubles every year and a half, the company estimates that 5% of users consumer 46% of the total available bandwidth.

Cable giant Comcast, of course, has come in for harsh criticism -- and FCC scrutiny -- for "traffic management" policies on its network.

• And, for those of you worried about your continuing ability to plant yourself at your local coffeeshop for hours while nursing a latte and surfing YouTube, Starbucks and AT&T have reached a settlement of T-Mobile USA Inc.'s lawsuit objecting to free Wi-Fi access in the coffee chain's stores.

When Starbucks said it would start offering free temporary access to consumers via AT&T's Wi-Fi service, T-Mobile -- which has long provided service at the coffeehouses at inflated prices -- objected, saying "Nobody told us." T-Mobile's suit claimed that Starbucks' roll-out the AT&T service violated an older contract calling for "a more gradual transition" away from T-Mobile. No details of the resolution were released.

Starbucks, of course, faces competition in most markets from local coffeeshops that offer free Wi-Fi. That leaves one mystery outstanding: why the hell does nationwide caffeine chain Peet's continue to refuse to offer wireless service?