Starlink has the fastest internet in the sky. It blows away Viasat and similar offerings that you’ll find on airlines like American and Delta. Bandwidth aside, their satellites are in lower orbit and the signal just has a shorter distance to travel. In my experience on board, it’s meant basically no latency. I can work in the air just like I do with a fiber connection on the ground.
JSX was the first carrier with Starlink on board. Hawaiian Airlines has it now. United, Air France and Qatar are all getting it.
One passenger on Delta wasn’t satisfied with their free high speed wifi, and wanted Starlink – so he brought his own.
My first attempt to get Starlink working on this Delta flight a failure thus far pic.twitter.com/ECys107dfD
— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) November 12, 2024
Despite bringing a Starlink receiver, he couldn’t make it work in the air. And it’s not because he was in the sky – it can work in the sky! People have literally made this same set up work:
Worked in my friends Cessna 172 but that goes a lot slower
— Ryan Petersen (@typesfast) November 12, 2024
It turns out that the speed of mainline jets, though, is the problem – they know how fast you’re going and plans themselves limit access based on this. The system may shut you down if you’re traveling at over 100 mph. (The ‘roam’ plan includes “In-motion use up to 100 Mph / 160 Kph”.)
Has to have the correct plan to work for aviation. Can confirm that it works from first hand experience.
— ViperHardy | RG (@HardyViper) November 12, 2024
Interestingly, TSA won’t let you bring a dangerous bottle of water through its checkpoints but will allow you to bring complex electronics like this. I’d also note that even if you’re on a Starlink plan that supports high speed travel, some aircraft are going to limit you’re ability to receive or broadcast a signal. For instance, the composite frame of the Boeing 787 acts as a Faraday cage which seems likely to block the signal at least in part (antennas are thus placed on the outside of airframes to support aircraft-wide connectivity).
One time I turned on a Garmin GPS (the type used in cars) during flight just to see if it worked. It did.
The only trick was I would periodically lose the signal & had to stick it flat against the window (just like the customer in the picture with the Starlink).
Interesting article, I’m surprised that the FA’s didn’t restrict this use. Although there is some truth to the point that the 787 composite hull acts as a Faraday Cage, the PAX was pointing the dish through a window, so that point is mute. Speaking of that issue, apparently the 787 composite hull has a buried mesh for lightning strike protection, which “works” only in the sense that it does dissipate lightning. That said, the unfortunate result is massive lightning damage all over the airframe and not just where the strike occurred. In 20/20 hindsight, solid copper bus bars bonded to the outside of the composite (and covered by the livery paint) would have made far more sense.
I never thought I would read an article on a website with the words “Faraday cage” in it. Cool
@Disgruntled: Yes and the GPS on your phone will work the same way, by putting it close to your window. Seems to do better if you’re seated on the south-facing side of the a/c, at least in middle latitudes. Of course, you need to have internet access or download the map base first from Google Maps – otherwise you just get a blue dot on a blank screen. Which isn’t useful.
The electronics vs bottle of water point is a good one is 2024. Hopefully something the new Dept on Govt Efficiency can solve. Perhaps we can pay to get water through TSA using DOGE coins
The TSA will be lifting the liquids restrictions in the next 2 years. Only the newest X-ray (CT scanners now) machines can test liquids on the fly so that is the holdup, they are live testing these machines in many airports as of writing this. If you have ever traveled with “oversized liquids” you would know they have the ability to test them if needed. The issue is that process is slow due to the tech available. They utilize bottle scanners or test strips and both are manual and take a few minutes. If they lifted the ban for liquids today and had to test all the liquids, the line would be out the door waiting for bag checks and tests as everyone would be packing water and tons of toiletries. This is why they can’t allow the ban to be lifted yet. As a tip, if you claim “any” liquid as medically necessary, they are instructed to test it and let you go. They are specifically told to not ask what it is for, as they are not doctors and should not make assumptions when they do not know anything about medicine, nor your needs. That being said, many are overzealous and break that rule frequently. Ask for someone of higher rank and state the same thing, it is for medical needs and HIPPA protects me from having to share with you my medical needs. If a complaint is filed, this is taken very seriously, especially if filmed. – 20yrs with TSA, I know what I am talking about here.
I satellite terminal is not a dangerous electronic. I understand you were going for some hyperbole… but even making that comparison to a dangerous water bottle puts useful everyday electronics in a bad light.
It’s not that it can’t beat free WiFi. It just doesn’t work because of geo/speed fencing. Duh.
Latency isn’t lowered because the satellites are lower than old ones. They are 2/3 as far up as old sats but latency difference is about 20 ms vs 600 ms.
And Dreamliners are not more of a Faraday cage more so than older planes (as implied) because they’re made of composites. They should be less of a Faraday cage but it may be that the metal mesh for lightning strikes still accomplishes this.
And of course the starlink or whatever are put in the outside of planes. Every transmission or receiving device on a plane has gone on the outside since the dawn of planes. Not some new weird Dreamliner composite fix.
They have an AC power outlet and enough space to unfurl the gear and client devices. This is not cattle class. They’d be better off using the provided WiFi even if it costs a few bucks.
The Government Efficiency Officer should start with removing the ganja police. That herb will also be useful as an opiate for the masses. Slightly less than half the population need to be medicated.
A satellite in a geosynchronous orbit is at an altitude of approximately 22,236 miles above sea level. Starlink satellites orbit at an altitude that averages approximately 342 miles above sea level. The distance traveled to and from the satellite in the first case is 22,236 x 2 / 186,000 or approximately 239 milliseconds. Add to this the latency from cleaning up the signal, amplifying it and transmitting it on a different band. In the second case the latency from the distance traveled to and from the satellite is 342 x 2 / 186,000 or approximately 3.7 milliseconds. This is a significant drop in latency. Add that to advanced electronics that have much lower latency from cleaning up the signal (closer so much less degradation), amplifying it and transmitting it on a different band and you can understand why Starlink is so good. Further, geosynchronous orbit over the equator, the one all countries and companies want, is crowded with many satellites.
Has anyone successfully used their phone’s GPS in a 787, even when held close to a window? Mine works fine in a 777, but I am under the impression (and I think experience) that the electronic windows of a 787 block the GPS signals.
If you haven’t previously downloaded the “offline” maps from Google, you can see a blue dot of location but with few indications of where you are…zoom out to see a larger area. If you have previously downloaded the map of the area you are flying over it works just like in a car.