How in-flight internet access works

In 2008, hundreds of planes will be flying with in-the-air wi-fi service.

One technology comes from AirCell. This is an air-to-ground connection using EV-DO technology. EV-DO is the same technology used by Verizon and other cell phone companies to give laptops broadband access through the cell phone network. AirCell has purchased spectrum (800 Mhz) that it will use for its own airborne EV-DO system. Aircell (and other sysytems like it) can work well when flying over the United States. It would not work well for trans-oceanic flights. This video describes the basics of AirCell technology:

While in the air, your laptop communicates with a wi-fi hub on the airplane, and then the hub communicates with towers on the ground to reach the Internet. American Airlines is one airline that will be using AirCell.

For long oceanic flights, you need to get the connection from a satellite rather than ground-based towers. Boeing tried this approach with a service called Connexion. But it cost about $500,000 per plane to install and never took off. Boeing cancelled the service in 2006.

A company called Row44 is trying again with the satellite approach. According to the Row44 FAQ, “The Row 44 System provides data rates averaging 30 Mbps in the downlink direction (from the satellite to the aircraft) and 620 Kbps maximum in the uplink direction.” The connection is provided by a network of satellites owned by Hughes. Alaska Airlines is one airline that will be using Row44 in 2008.