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Airplane WiFi is slow and usually expensive.
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And just because you're paying more
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doesn't necessarily mean you're getting more.
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You may not get WiFi until you're
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10,000 feet in the air,
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and when you do get it, it may be slow and spotty.
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Even so, people are still willing to cough up their
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cash to post pictures of clouds mid-flight,
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or do some actual work.
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The industry is expected to be worth
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$130 billion by 2035.
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But if it's such a huge industry,
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why does in-flight WiFi still suck?
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First, we need to talk about how these planes,
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speeding around at hundreds of miles an hour,
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36,000 feet in the air, can even get WiFi.
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There are two ways:
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towers on the ground or satellites in space.
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Let's look at the towers.
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This method is called air-to-ground,
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or ATG for short.
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Antennas on the belly of the craft
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pick up signals from cell towers on the ground.
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The benefit?
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You'll get less delay because the towers
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are closer to your plane than a satellite.
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The downside?
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No towers, no signals.
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That means when you're flying over
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large bodies of water,
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above mountains, or passing over
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countries with cell towers that restrict WiFi access,
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you probably won't get any WiFi.
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So, what about satellites?
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The big dome-shaped antenna on top of the plane
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will pick up signals from the satellites.
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These satellite-based systems will either use
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Ku-band or Ka-band connections,
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which is similar to 3G versus 4G.
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There's a whole debate on whether
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Ku or Ka band is better,
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but they're both way faster than ATG systems.
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But when you're sharing internet
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with a couple hundred other people,
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traveling 500 miles per hour,
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36,000 feet in the air,
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there's bound to be a hiccup or two.
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But towers versus satellite isn't the only thing
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that affects whether you'll be able to stream
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this week's episode of "The Bachelor" or not.
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The quality and price of your in-flight WiFi
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actually depend on four more things:
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your airline, aircraft,
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the in-flight WiFi provider,
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and the region you're traveling to and from.
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First of all, in an effort to cut costs,
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some airlines, like Frontier, don't even offer WiFi.
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If your airline does offer WiFi,
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it could be free,
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or go all the way up to $30 for an all-day pass.
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But just because the airline offers WiFi
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doesn't mean your plane supports it.
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Some aircraft aren't even built with WiFi capabilities.
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An American Airlines Boeing 738
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might have satellite-based WiFi,
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but an American Airlines Boeing 757 might not.
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Then there's the provider.
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They all offer different speeds, which is
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crucial for watching those meltdowns in HD.
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And lastly, you'll need to factor in your route.
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If you're flying over a lot of mountains or an ocean,
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there probably won't be many towers along the way.
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And if the plane isn't equipped
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to receive satellite internet,
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you'll be completely out of luck.
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For a while, Hawaiian Airlines didn't want
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to invest in in-flight WiFi
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because the technology along their flight paths
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crossing the Pacific Ocean was sparse,
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but communication companies are launching
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new satellites,
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and Hawaiian is rethinking the investment.
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So, why isn't everyone
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upgrading their equipment?
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For some airlines, it's just not their highest priority.
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Upgrading equipment means taking planes
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out of service for a few days,
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which means airlines lose money.
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It also means budgeting for new infrastructure.
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Plus, at least one in-flight provider
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has 10-year contracts with some of the airlines,
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which doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room
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for upgrades and changes.
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But better and faster in-flight WiFi
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is definitely on its way.
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American Airlines, for example, is making moves
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to invest in better in-flight WiFi.
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One survey showed that 67% of passengers
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would rebook with an airline
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if high-quality WiFi were available.
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In other words, good WiFi means
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customer satisfaction and loyalty.
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Airlines have good reason to upgrade their offerings,
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so it might not be a bad call for airlines
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to speed up the process.
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But for now, you're probably better off saving
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your reality-TV binge for when you get home.
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Producer: That's how a plane moves....
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For sure.
