Categories: Travel

Wi-Fi on commercial planes is about to get a whole lot faster

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If you’ve ever had trouble getting a decent internet connection during a flight, we have good news!

Gogo and Honeywell, two major providers of in-flight Wi-Fi, are using new technology to provide a better internet experience at 35,000 feet.

Read more: 6 reasons why your internet connection is so slow

Slow in-flight Wi-Fi could soon be a thing of the past!

Here’s how it works: Instead of getting a signal from cell towers below, the plane’s Wi-Fi connection comes from satellites orbiting overhead, NBC News reports.

Planes equipped with the technology could provide the same internet speed that you get at home, even when flying over water.

Reporting from a Honeywell test plane, an NBC News reporter was able to watch YouTube videos, stream a Netflix show and video chat with someone on the ground in New York City.

Delta is in the process of upgrading hundreds of planes with Gogo’s improved Wi-Fi, which is called 2Ku. According to a blog post from the airline:

“Today, Delta’s 2Ku equipped aircraft provides streaming video quality performance with 15 Mbps to the seat. With the introduction of Gogo’s next generation modem, performance will increase even further. Delta aircraft installed with 2Ku will begin to receive the new modem in the second half of 2017. With the launch of high-throughput satellites and the new modem in place, customers will begin to see speeds of over 20 Mbps to the seat toward the end of 2017 and into early 2018.”

Many other major airlines are also working to speed up their in-flight Wi-Fi because customers are demanding it. Individual airlines will decide how much to charge passengers for the service.

Read more: How to improve the Wi-Fi signal throughout your home

This post was last modified on June 16, 2017 9:56 am

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