Telstra plans 4G network for domestic flights

Telstra plans 4G network for domestic flights
By admin


Telstra has unveiled a nationwide plan to provide 4G mobile broadband on domestic flights.

Dedicated transmitters on the ground will use upward-facing antennas to send signals to shark-fin shaped antennae on the underside of aircraft, even as aircraft travel at close to a thousand kilometres per hour.

On a number of test flights between Sydney and Melbourne, involving four ground stations, the telco was able to maintain 4G throughput of up to 15 megabits-per-second (Mbps), with an average throughput of 10 Mbps.

"These test flights are encouraging," said Mike Wright, Telstra's executive director of networks, in a blog post on Monday.

He said the network, called Skinet, might one day deliver high-speed broadband connectivity to consumers.

It could also be used for remote monitoring and control applications, he added.

Wi-Fi is available on some commercial flights via satellite technology, but coverage can be patchy.

Further tests will be conducted this year as the company explores whether a nationwide 4G network for planes is economically viable.

Wright said Telstra is working with authorities to investigate getting access to extra space on the radiofrequency spectrum.

Latest News

  • Luxury

COMO launches new family-sized farmhouse in the heart of Tuscany

COMO Hotels and Resorts has launched its new farmhouse apartments in the heart of Tuscany, just in time for Australians to escape our wet winter. And it’s also an ideal time for Aussies of Italian ancestry to explore their home country as 2024 has been declared the year of Roots and Heritage Tourism by the […]

  • Destinations
  • News

New Caledonia in lockdown and airport closed after violent riots rock Noumea

New Caledonia officials have announced a 6pm-6am curfew, a liquor ban and have closed the country’s main airport after overnight riots in which vehicles were torched and roads blocked in the wake of proposed constitutional reforms. Australian Government website Smartraveller has issued an alert informing visitors to exercise a high degree of caution in metropolitan […]