The secret trick that makes inflight wifi work
Traditionally, airplanes have been among the few places you can get away with avoiding your emails.
But as in-flight wi-fi becomes more and more common, on flagship and budget airlines alike, planes are not the digitally challenged bubbles they once were. There's less, if no, excuse not to keep on top of the barrage of messages most of us receive on a daily basis. Of course, that means you get to use the internet for the fun stuff too.
Air New Zealand plans to start rolling out wi-fi on its international jet services in the second half of the year and expects to do the same with domestic flights in 2018.
Essentially, there are two ways for your device to pick up a wi-fi signal when you're cruising at 35,000 feet, The Telegraph reports.
The first is via mobile broadband towers which send signals up to an aircraft's antennas, which are usually on the base of the fuselage.
As it travels, the plane automatically connects to signals from the nearest tower which, in theory, means there shouldn't be connectivity issues. If you're passing over a particularly remote area or large body of water, though, you could run into problems.
The second method, which Air NZ intends to use, is satellite technology. Planes connect to satellites in orbit some 35,786 kilometres above earth - the same ones used for television signals, weather forecasts and secret military operations.
Your device connects to an antenna on top of the aircraft which, in turn, connects to the closest satellite signal. Information is passed between the plane and the ground via the satellite and the wi-fi signal is distributed to passengers via an onboard router.
The US has the most developed infrastructure for both mobile and satellite in-flight wi-fi connections, making it both faster and cheaper.
Why is in-flight wi-fi so slow?
Wi-fi technology is evolving quickly, but is struggling to keep up with the number and growing sophistication of mobile devices, the report states.
When in-flight broadband company Gogo (then known as Aircell) launched its first on-board wi-fi service on a Virgin America plane in 2008, the three megabit a second connection speed was sufficient for a few laptops (streaming video was banned at the time). But these days, when most passengers carry at least one device to connect to numerous services, websites and apps, much higher speeds are needed.
Satellite connections now offer speeds of about 12 Mbps but the technology is expensive to maintain and upgrade, which hampers development.
The average UK household internet speed reached 28.9 Mbps in 2016, so in-flight wi-fi still lags a long way behind.
Why is in-flight wi-fi so expensive?
The technology used isn't cheap, and neither are the in-aircraft systems. Aircraft antennas also increase drag, pushing up the fuel bill.
These and engineering and maintenance costs are typically passed on to passengers. The cost of connecting to wi-fi varies from airline to airline, but some, such as Emirates, offer free trials.
Will it get better?
In a word: yes. Although in this part of the world we may need to wait longer.
In Europe, communications firm Immarsat is working with German telco Deutsche Telekom to develop a high-capacity satellite wi-fi network backed up by ground towers. The European Aviation Network (EAN), as it will be known, promises a "a reliable high bandwidth broadband service in the air" throughout Europe. The EAN is set to launch commercially in 2017.
Immarsat has said over half the world's aircraft will be equipped for in-flight wi-fi within the next six years and that the sector will become a billion-dollar revenue earner by 2020.
Gogo, which has a monopoly on in-flight wi-fi in the US, has come under flak for its slow upload and download speeds but its new 2Ku service promises speeds of up to 70 Mbps thanks to upgraded antennas and satellite services.
Air NZ's wi-fi connection will be supplied by Immarsat's new global GX satellite constellation and integrated with in-cabin Panasonic Avionics technology.
"Given Air NZ operates some of the longest flights in the world, and in oceanic areas where there has historically been poor quality satellite service, we have patiently worked with partners until comfortable that a service which meets the high expectations of our customers is available," Air NZ chief executive Christopher Luxon said last October.
"Proving flights on a partner company test aircraft have now given us the confidence to introduce what we believe will be the world's most reliable inflight connectivity. Customers will be able to use their social media channels, stay on top of emails and browse the internet."
Do you think inflight wifi is it a good thing? Or is it unnecessary?
Let us know what you think!