Airplane internet how does it work

If airlines play it right with broadband, the next 20 years could transform their revenue streams. The first is using an Air to Ground ATG network, where the plane connects with the closest ground-based tower. Downsides of this system include the limited spectrum and that it only works over or close to land flying over sea and ocean can obviously cause connectivity issues. Air passengers connect through an on-board router.

Maynard says there are several vendors which are disrupting the in-flight Wi-Fi market. It offers three tiers of connectivity: messaging free , surf, and stream for audio and video streaming. The airline is also offering online shopping through its in-flight portal. These highly efficient spot beams provide a foundation layer of global coverage, designed to serve a high-speed mobile audience.

He says that this also enables more accurate predictions for future demand. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How does WiFi work on an aircraft? Ask Question. Asked 6 years, 5 months ago. Active 6 years, 5 months ago.

Viewed 8k times. Improve this question. Nathan Tuggy 1 1 gold badge 3 3 silver badges 14 14 bronze badges. Madhav Sudarshan Madhav Sudarshan 5, 13 13 gold badges 42 42 silver badges 84 84 bronze badges. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. DeltaLima DeltaLima It's only thanks to your post that I can fully appreciate the simplest thing like a normal wifi conncetion I'm used to get all over the place.

The pictured device and antenna are for the internet connection between the airplane and the rest of the world - replacing the cable or fiber optic connection that you or the cafe might have to your internet service provider.

There is a lot of interior equipment required to be on an airplane in order for its passengers to have WiFi capabilities. These include black boxes which are NOT flight recorders that line one side of the plane and are set above the windows. These are your in-flight WiFi access points. The fewer the users, the faster the WiFi service will be. There are also some limitations among the different types of WiFi services.

The ATG system, for example, has antennas that can only face the front and rear of the plane and the Ku-Band satellite is only able to connect to one satellite at a time. This means that both of these systems can cause disruptions in the service between the various satellites and towers.

On-the-ground technology also has some limitations.