Dear friends and followers.
Welcome back to my channel!
And thank you much for tuning in as we're going to cover a very interesting topic today.
How does Wi-Fi work on airplanes ?
So, let's get started!
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Okay, the first thing to know is that there are three different ways of getting a Wi-Fi signal
at 38,000 feet above ground and traveling at 500 mph.
All three systems work fairly similar. Although they vary in bandwidth and internet speed.
However, they all need a ground-based internet server, a transmitting antenna or a satellite dish,
a receiving and transmitting antenna on the plane and an onboard server and a Wi-Fi router
to be able to service a passenger wanting to use the laptop or mobile device.
But first to mention is the ATG system, which stands for Air-To-Ground transmission.
ATG requires two antennas that are installed on the belly of the aircraft
in order to pick up the signals from the land-based cell towers.
These towers are very similar to the cellular network towers you get your 4G/LTE signal
for your mobile phone.
So, when the onboard ATG system is activated,
the aircraft begins to pick up the different cell tower signals
and allows users within the plane to start sending and receiving
messages or emails or whatever.
Unfortunately the internet speed tops out at 3 Mbit/s
compared to your 4G/LTE equipped mobile phone which can provide speeds up to 30 - 40 Mbit/s.
But, it'll be enough to check your emails and send a WhatsApp message.
The next generation of Internet connectivity
in the skies is the satellite-based "Ku-Band" service,
a technology formerly used by the military the 'K' stands for the German word "Kurz"
meaning short, for example, shortwave frequency.
And the 'U' stands for "Under" as it is in the lower part of
the original NATO K-Band frequency range.
So again, a ground station or a transmitter beams up the signal or an uplink to the satellite
which reflects the signal which then can be picked up by a special airplane antenna.
The system is comparable to a satellite phone, such as Explorers use on
expeditions around the Arctic poles.
The signal is then decoded via the airplane server and distributed via the Wi-Fi router.
The satellite connection used by the Ku-Band frequency is considerably
faster than the ATG system with a maximum of 50 Mbit/s.
But, it is still relatively slow if you imagine on an Airbus A320 with
172 passengers on board all connected to the same Wi-Fi,
trying to stream a Netflix series. It just ain't gonna happen.
It does have a few disadvantages.
Because of the distance the signal has to travel,
satellite Wi-Fi suffers from latency issues that don't affect ATG transmissions
So, while your content will load faster, overall,
page elements will initially take longer to appear.
Also the internet speed gets slower the more airplanes are transmitting on one satellite
and there aren't that many out there yet.
Another issue is the on-board antenna.
I'm sure many of you have seen the bulky hump on the upper part of the fuselage on most modern airliners.
And below the hump sits a satellite antenna,
very similar to a TV satellite dish attached to your home.
Except the on-board antenna is able to rotate and constantly adjust itself to the nearest satellite
causing it to be considerably large.
The third system is the Ka-Band,
the 'a' stands for above as this is in the upper region of the native frequency band at 20 - 36 GHz.
The Ka-Band is currently the fastest Wi-Fi service available for airlines
and satellite wireless service provider "ViaSat" powers Ka-band with the "ViaSat-1" satellite
which is much more powerful than the Ku-Band satellite
and promises speeds up to 70 Mbit/s to each aircraft.
This is similar to the speed you are use in your home and allows you to stream videos as well as
upload photos on social media platforms.
And there's presently one ViaSat Ka-Band satellite covering the US
and ViaSat-2 covers Canada and parts of Europe.
So, the future is looking very bright for on-board Internet.
Some airplanes are now fitted with a hybrid receiver
capable of switching between the Ka-Band and Ku-Band based on the best signal strength available.
And those airlines claim that this combination of satellite service Wi-Fi will allow its
passengers to watch shows and movies on Netflix and stream music from Spotify.
What more could you ask for?
And Gogo which is another internet provider launched two Ku-System in 2015
which relies on 180 satellites in the Ku-Band giving the necessary signal strength and consistency.
But still, you ask yourself "How can airlines charge you a ridiculous price
for such an unstable internet connection?".
Primarily the airlines want to profit from your need to be constantly online.
In case you've booked a flight with an onboard Wi-Fi.
But, the system is inoperative which is on every 10 flight.
Don't expect to get your money back, plus, the bulky antenna comes with a cost.
It's not just expensive to install and maintain
it also increases the fuel consumption due to the weight and aerodynamic penalties,
and, therefore airlines obviously want to pay you for the high fuel consumption.
That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this video about the Wi-Fi on airplanes.
Don't forget to perform a touch-and-go up my Instagram account
and send a WhatsApp message prior landing if you have on-board Wi-Fi.
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All the best your Captain Joe.
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