route coverage versus international), with some opting for hybrid Ka-Band and Ku-Band receivers to provide widespread coverage - but of course, this comes at a cost. These additional satellites are set to increase coverage to North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific, so this should be a real game-changer for ViaSat, if successful.Īt present, airlines are having to consider which provider will suit their needs (e.g., domestic U.S. JetBlue is one such airline that says that its high-speed Wi-Fi is available for routes over the contiguous U.S., whereas availability for other routes may vary.Īlthough many Ku-Band providers purchase bandwidth from various satellite owners, ViaSat (a provider of Ka-Band) owns its own 2 satellites, with more planned for launch in 20.
Ka-Band provides the most advanced high-speed satellite Wi-Fi, boasting up to 70 Mbps per airplane however, there are significantly fewer Ka-Band satellites in orbit with a smaller geographical coverage, so it’s only suitable for some airlines at present. Providers such as Gogo, Panasonic, and Global Eagle Entertainment provide connectivity to airlines using Ku-Band. This bandwidth, when potentially split across many users, is generally not up to the job of streaming content. Ku-Band speed is an improvement on ATG connections at around 30-40 Mbps however, signals from satellites are shared with other airplanes so bandwidth reduction may occur depending on airspace concentration.Īlthough it’s not the fastest Wi-Fi available, it is the most consistent, with hundreds of Ku-Band satellites orbiting the earth, meaning that the airplane’s antenna will be more likely to maintain a signal. The higher the frequency, generally the higher the available bandwidth. Ku-Band and Ka-Band are 2 types of satellite operating systems with Ku-Band utilizing 12-18 GHz and Ka-Band 26.5-40 GHz. This system allows for better connections where no cell tower coverage is present, such as over large expanses of water although due to the distance the signals must travel, latency issues can be experienced which can still affect Wi-Fi speed.
With satellite operating systems, ground-based units transmit signals to a satellite in orbit, which then relays the signal to the airplane. Wi-Fi speed is slow with an ATG connection at around 3 Mbps, so it’s suitable for checking emails or messaging apps but wouldn’t hold-up against any bandwidth-intensive actions such as streaming or uploading files. The limitation of ATG is the lack of cell towers in remote areas of land, or large expanses of water such as oceans, causing this type of connection to only be suitable for land travel, with the expectation of some black spots here and there. As the airplane’s journey progresses, these signals move from one available cell tower to the next. Your mobile device or wireless router receives and transmits radio signals through its antenna to/from ground-based cell towers, and it’s the same on an airplane.Īn antenna is placed on the underside of an airplane’s body, so that they are positioned to receive and transmit signals to/from these cell towers. Air to Ground (ATG) Wi-FiĪTG is the same operating system used to provide Wi-Fi to your home or mobile devices. There are 2 types of operating systems for airplane Wi-Fi - air to ground (ATG) which bounces signals off ground-based cell towers, and satellite Wi-Fi that uses signals from satellites orbiting the earth. How Airplane Wi-Fi Works Air to ground and satellite Wi-Fi.
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