Get the latest tech news

Airplane Wi-Fi Is Now … Good?


For years, in-flight internet has been fine for email, not great for Zoom meetings. That’s all changing fast.

SpaceX ’s Starlink network of low Earth orbit satellites, for example, can deliver a connection capable of downloading more than 200 megabits per second—twice as fast as most basic home internet plans. “We’re creating a little bit of a living room in the sky,” says Grant Milstead, vice president of digital technology for United Airlines, which flew its first Starlink-equipped route, from Chicago to Detroit, in May. Though faster and more reliable than Gogo, satellite-based connectivity was slow to take off—an expensive endeavor requiring affixing an antenna to the top of the plane and placing routers throughout the aircraft.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Wired

Read more on:

Photo of airplane wi-fi

airplane wi-fi