Virgin America is the first company to add faster Wi-Fi connection to its air planes.
Spokespersons have disclosed on early Wednesday morning that Virgin America will add faster Wi-Fi connection to airplanes next year. The company has promised users to deliver such a fast Wi-Fi connection that will enable them to watch Netflix during flights.
Wi-Fi connection is no longer an impossible goal, at least for American airplanes, which have long added this service on their air planes. However, the connection is rarely good enough to enable users to actually surf the Internet; therefore, American companies are making efforts to improve their offer.
Virgin America is the first company to offer incredibly fast Wi-Fi connection due to a recent deal that they have signed with ViaSat. The deal presupposes that air planes will be endowed with a much faster Wi-Fi connection thanks to the two new satellites.
Passengers will be able to connect wirelessly even when flying 30,000 feet above and this is possible thanks to the Ka and Ku satellites. The Ka satellite has already been featured in many American homes, ensuring a connectivity that is 30 times faster. Thanks to this new satellite the in-flight Wi-Fi connection will become ten times faster than it currently is.
The Ku satellite has been purposefully designed for flights. It connects mobile devices while the air plane crosses the Pacific Ocean. The switch between the two satellites is made with the help of a special antenna that opts between the two systems, depending on flight conditions.
The new Wi-Fi connection will not be available in the immediate period. Virgin America has announced that they will add the Ka satellite starting this September, whereas the Ku satellite will be inserted during the first months of the following year.
Airplanes featuring the new Wi-Fi connectivity will be tested at the beginning of 2016, when the company organizes flights towards Hawaii. The company has further disclosed that only 10 planes will benefit of the new technology at first. The service will be expanded if the feedback turns out positive.
Customers will not be able to surf the Internet for free. Virgin America will inform customers of the prices that they will have to pay in exchange of the wireless connection, once the trial period is over.
Image source: si.wsj.net
Matthew Slotkin
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