

The technology has been deployed successfully in Europe and around the world without incident, according to the FCC. Technically speaking, the service requires that each plane be fitted with its own mobile base station, a network control unit that prevents onboard phone signals from reaching land-based networks and a satellite link to terrestrial phone networks. Several airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, offer onboard voice calling, data, and texting, while others allow only data and texting. Over a decade ago the European Commission began allowing in-flight cellular service throughout the EU. Stay Entertained with Noise-Cancelling Headphones
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The only exception to this is when the airline offers in-flight entertainment on your own device via its app, which is free to stream. Similar to the tiered Wi-Fi plans that you’ll find at hotels, you now see on planes with passengers having the option to select a certain speed of Wi-Fi for their inflight plans. In following years, more airlines have come out with gate-to-gate connectivity like Southwest, Norwegian, and JetBlue (which also supports streaming services).Īnd if airlines offer in-flight Wi-Fi, they most likely also allow you to stream video and other media in-flight, but it’ll cost you. Connection speeds are up to 10 times faster than conventional in-flight Wi-Fi, allowing passengers to stream Netflix, Spotify, and other online content to their personal devices. In February 2017, Qantas introduced its new in-flight Wi-Fi network using the upgraded technology. Today, there is more extensive bandwidth and upgraded satellite technology on most airlines around the world, with Qantas and JetBlue among the first to adopt.
