Inflight internet takes off: Connecting travelers at 35,000 feet

Your long flight is about 5 hours away and you are finishing work in a hurry, loading books on your kindle to read on the flight, packing your eye patches and ear plugs to catch up on sleep. Do not worry; none of this may be necessary as your flight may just continue to keep you connected with inflight Wi-Fi. Go ahead and send the email from the flight, download your book onto the kindle and surely set a reminder to catch up on sleep lest you forget with all the hyper connectedness.

Inflight internet systems can be of two types – Air to Ground (ATG) or Satellite-based Wi-Fi systems. As you have probably guessed, the ATG systems use the same cellphone towers that are used while on land for communication. As you can probably guess, this is inefficient in a few ways – No connectivity while over sea, takes longer as signals must beam to the ground first and then back onto the satellite. Wi-Fi speeds with ATG are typically slow, about 3 Mbps. Inflight Wi-Fi that uses satellites for communication can use both Geostationary satellites (GEO), which is the older technology or Low earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet providers like Starlink or OneWeb which is the newer technology. LEO satellites have lower transmission capacity in comparison but there is lower latency since the distance travelled by the signal is much shorter.

Satellite based internet can use either Ku-band & Ka-band. Ku-band uses frequencies between 12-18 GHz while Ka-band uses frequencies between 26.5-40 GHz. Higher frequencies may mean more available bandwidth. Ku-band offers more coverage, is cost-effective and is more reliable. Ka-band is the leading & emerging technology, delivering higher speeds but has limited geographical coverage due to the unavailability of compatible satellites. Ka-band's advantages are that it has high data transfer rates, smaller antennas and other components required for inflight wi-fi and subsequently lower fuel and design costs for aircraft.

German airline Lufthansa was one of the first to offer inflight internet onboard its flights. Emirates made in-flight Wi-Fi popular especially on board their double-decker A380s. Emirates currently uses SITA OnAir for connectivity and offers free internet to all users who have signed up for their loyalty program. It plans to offer high-speed inflight broadband powered by Inmarsat's GX Aviation on the new Airbus A350 aircraft it has ordered.

I recently used inflight internet on a flight from Tokyo to Delhi on Japan Airlines which is provided by Panasonic Avionics and uses the Ku-band. The first hour was free for all passengers. The connectivity was consistent, and I could get some work done on the flight. While the speed was limited to a few Mbps, I could send a few messages, catch up on email and browse a few websites.

Starlink, the world's largest provider of satellite-based internet services is operational on several flight routes and have just announced Starlink onboard Qatar Airways' fleet of Boeing 777s. What's special about Starlink is the ability for users to enjoy high-speed internet with low latency at 35000 feet. This means you can watch videos, download files and work seamlessly while on a long flight. Starlink is set to take the in-flight internet market by storm with lower costs and higher bandwidth. This means that airlines could offer internet on board for free for most or all passengers.

While the Government of India has approved the use of inflight internet, things failed to heat up in the following years due to the pandemic, but inflight internet could soon become a reality in India. With these services becoming common place on international flights, inflight internet has remained unavailable in India due to the poor satellite connectivity over Indian airspace. If all goes well, ISRO plans to launch the GSAT-20 satellite toward the end of the year. Viasat, a global satellite communications company is expected to provide inflight internet over India using GSAT-20.
 

Vistara currently stands as the sole Indian airline providing inflight internet on international routes. Passengers can enjoy complimentary messaging services, facilitating real-time communication with family and friends during flights. For instance, on a Delhi to Hong Kong flight, travelers can stay connected throughout the journey. Air India has announced plans to introduce inflight internet services on its Airbus A350 aircraft, starting with the Delhi to London route. This initiative aims to enhance the passenger experience by offering connectivity on long-haul flights.

Additionally, telecom providers like Airtel and Jio have begun offering inflight roaming packs, enabling passengers with Indian SIM cards to access internet services while airborne. This development provides travelers with more options to stay connected during flights.

As inflight internet becomes increasingly viewed as a standard amenity, it's anticipated that more airlines will adopt this service across both domestic and international flights, aligning with passenger expectations for continuous connectivity.