news Qantas is set to introduce free inflight Wi-Fi from next year under a partnership with international broadband services provider ViaSat and the NBN network.
The new service will feature speeds “up to 10 times” faster than conventional on-board Wi-Fi, giving customers the ability to stream movies, news and sports on domestic flights, Qantas said in a statement.
In-flight trials are expected to begin later this year aboard a Qantas Boeing 737 retrofitted with modems and the advanced antenna that receives the satellite signal. A full roll-out across Qantas’ domestic fleet of A330s and B737s is expected from early in 2017.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said: “Bringing high-speed Wi-Fi to the domestic aviation market has been an ambition of ours for a long time and we now have access to the right technology to make it happen.”
“The sheer size of the Australian landmass creates some significant challenges for inflight connectivity, but the recent launch of NBN’s satellite has opened up new opportunities that we plan to take advantage of with ViaSat’s help,” he added.
Under the deal, ViaSat will provide Qantas with connectivity between the aircraft and the high capacity KA-band satellite and ground stations, which will then connect users to the Internet.
The speeds delivered by ViaSat to airlines in the US have resulted in take-up rates among passengers that are four times higher than the industry average, according to Qantas.
“This service will give Qantas customers download speeds in the air similar to what they’re used to on the ground,” Joyce said. “This kind of inflight connectivity would also open up a lot of potential to improve in-flight entertainment, which we’re constantly looking to enhance.”
“As a premium carrier, delivering value for money to our customers is extremely important to us. That’s why we’ll be offering access to Wi-Fi for free, on top of all the other things that are included when you fly Qantas,” he said.
Qantas is also looking at options to add high-speed Wi-Fi access across its international and regional fleet.
Mark Dankberg, ViaSat’s Chairman and CEO, said: “We are delighted to be working with Qantas, who share our commitment to offering airline passengers the best, most convenient in-flight connectivity experience.”
ViaSat serves close to 500 US commercial aircraft, providing in-flight Wi-Fi that reaches speeds of up to 20Mbps per person and enough total bandwidth to support “virtually any activity”, including streaming live or on-demand video and music, Dankberg explained.
“Our experience is proven on 1,500 flights daily, with as many as 148 simultaneous active devices on any given flight and with many of those devices using streaming media,” he said.
Qantas will be engaging with relevant regulators on the certification and approval for the new service.
Image credit: Qantas
Well, so much for remote users finally getting a reasonable service. Once Qantas and users within sight of capital cities are catered for there’ll be nothing left. I’ll bet there are no download limits for Qantas.
Not sure how I feel about this…this is not the intended purpose of the NBN satellite service, and can only deteriorate service levels for “on the ground” users in remote areas.
hey folks, I can’t see this having a performance hit on the NBN … the amount of people on planes simultaneously in Australia is extremely minimal ;)
Its bad enough the Sat service had the number of folks it needs to support doubled!
Problem is several of the Satellite beams are already heavily oversubscribed and others fast getting there. If you overlay the flight paths then things aren’t going to get much better in those areas.
( from jxeeno’s blog: http://blog.jxeeno.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/satellite-beams.fw_.png )
Yeah, I agree Renai.
I actually think it’s a pretty innovative use of the nbn™ satellites…especially for a dinosaur company like Qantas…
It also highlights what a good idea the satellites were in the first place :o)
And I’m going to hazard a guess that they’d be NATing each plane anyway. Seeing as the entire Qantas fleet only number 118, I don’t see this as an issue at all.
Not like sticking 50k people in Western Tassie on satellite type impact anyway…
Yes, but they’d presumably be relying on the large spot beams as that’s what would be required for any stability in an aircraft – and those have very limited capacity indeed.
All the calculations for the satellite service assume it will be used at fixed residences and businesses. It doesn’t support “moving targets” and was never intended to, not because that wouldn’t be handy, but because it would interfere with providing a guaranteed quality service. Imagine if a small telco claimed they’d done a deal to start using NBN FW to service mobile phones, it would be seen as completely irresponsible.
I’m keen on in flight wifi, I just think people need to realise it really will be a basic service – if Qantas claims they’ll be getting hundreds of Mbps to each aircraft (and that’s what Alan Joyce is implying) they are dreaming.
How are they planning to deliver the promised speeds? Given a Qantas 737 seats 168 people, Joyce has been saying they can provide each passenger 25Mbs, and is saying they’ll allow live streaming over the internet, will each passenger get their own satellite connection?
I was recently on a Virgin America flight that had the new ViaSat installed and there was heaps of people on there using laptop etc and I was streaming high quality Netflix just fine so it can be done.
Oh it can be done for sure, the issue is the NBN sat had the number of ground based users doubled on it by MTM and it generally speaking suffers from congestion in various areas as a result and not everyone is connected to it as yet.
If there was a 3rd/4th satellite up then awesome sauce this is great news because it wouldn’t affect those on the ground.
The number of ground based users has not doubled under MTM, it is still 3% of premises.
Rubbish, the Libs have in fact doubled the number of premises to be covered by the LTSS and reduced the number of Fixed Wireless premises.
So page 71 of the 2010 Corp Plan has “up to 200k users” for LTSS and page 16 of the 2016 Corp Plan has “more than 400k” for LTSS.
2010: http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco/documents/nbn-co-3-year-gbe-corporate-plan-final-17-dec-10.pdf
2016: http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/documents/nbn-corporate-plan-2016.pdf
The CP2016 also now says “~590k Fixed Wireless” vs 800,000 FW for the CP2010 plan (1mil -200k for LTSS page 77)
“The number of ground based users has not doubled under MTM, it is still 3% of premises.”
You’ve been corrected multiple times. Please stop lying.
Derek O,
Two different Corporate plans with a gap of six years between them, one produced by the Labor NBN Co the other produced by the Coalition NBN Co under two different CEO’s and different NBN infrastructure models.
There are differences in targets and the technology mix between the two NBN Co CP’s , well doh who would have ever thought?
Ah Alain, still trolling and adding nothing to the debate .. how tiresome!!!
I don’t read that at all. I read it as about giving each plane an NBN connection and NAT to the rest of the passengers.
Yes, this is my thought too, but how much bandwidth are they taking from the satellites, given a normal connection is only providing 25Mbs, but Joyce is offering this to each passenger. Each 737 would need 4200Mbs if every passenger were to make full use of the service.
So where is this extra capacity coming from? We have limits / quotas / speed caps for rural users, but suddenly there is extra capacity on the satellites for airlines?
There should be extra capacity in 2017 after the second satellite is launched in the 3rd or 4th quarter of this year.
Knowing Qantas, they’ll charge an arm and a leg for internet access in-flight, so it would only be one or two politicians or billionaire businessmen sitting up front actually using bandwidth.
They’ve actually suggested they intend to give it away for free.
The two satellites together were designed to service under 300k users. CP16 upped that to over 400k. Any spare capacity has well and truly been demolished.
Exactly HC, details in this comment above:
https://delimiter.com.au/2016/02/24/qantas-use-nbn-viasat-deliver-flight-wi-fi-2017/#li-comment-719344
Hotcakes,
What analysis from the NBN Co show the satellite has reached capacity already?
“What analysis from the NBN Co show the satellite has reached capacity already?”
This article is about events that will transpire in 2017. Get your comprehension hat back on please.
oh and…..
NBN said Sky Muster was designed to deliver broadband internet services to more than 400,000 rural and remote homes, including on Norfolk, Christmas, Macquarie and Cocos islands.
The company said of the 400,000 premises in the total footprint for the satellite, it expected around 200,000 to take up a service.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-01/sky-muster-launches-amid-concerns-internet-speeds-overpromised/
The capacity problem is what?
The problem is you Lib mates have taken a service designed for:
“up to 200k users” for LTSS
( page 71 of the 2010 Corp Plan)
http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco/documents/nbn-co-3-year-gbe-corporate-plan-final-17-dec-10.pdf
and now made it
“more than 400k” for LTSS.
(page 16 of the 2016 Corp Plan)
http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/documents/nbn-corporate-plan-2016.pdf
Big Freaken difference Alain! It’s just typical of your short sighted Lib mates, you lot cant even grasp the concept of proper capacity management and are making a fk’n mess as a result!!!
You missed the bit the service is designed for 400K but only expect 200K to use it.
Stop using CP 2010, it is now 2016, new government new NBN model, CP 2010 is redundant and totally irrelevant.
Rubbish, show me the page in the 2010 plan that backs up your statement?
Sorry I dont accept your BS, the 2010 plan has credibility, the 2016 is merely a propaganda document!
You can’t even post a link properly :/
This is the actual link http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-01/sky-muster-launches-amid-concerns-internet-speeds-overpromised/6817998
What is it about the Sky Muster service is designed for 400k users but only 200k are expected to use it don’t you understand?
Alain, there is NO mention of servicing a 400k footprint until after the 2013 election, end of story!!!
The Libs have shifted over 200,000 FW customers into the LTSS footprint – case closed!!!
Isn’t it both satellites that make up “Sky Muster”?
EXACTLY right Tinman. Also evident is Alain missing the clearly obvious fact (surprise!) that Sky Muster had begun development during the Labor reign, specs were solidified well before the Liberals entered government. Ergo the capabilities of the service have not magically increased while the Coalition have been in power.
I dunno Hotcakes, the LPA does specialise in unicorns after all!!
correct link.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-01/sky-muster-launches-amid-concerns-internet-speeds-overpromised/6817998
Sheesh, why post the correction as another post and not as a reply to yourself….man, you’re all over the place…
To give you something to do, you and others, keep up with the own goals, too easy.
What own goal?
The own goal of posting correct links? Who knows.
True, like Richard, he’s making less sense day by day :(
Not sure on the actual logistics of connecting x number of people at a time, but given we are talking about a maximum number of people aggregated across an aircraft that can hold a maximum number of users/ devices I am certain it can be done. While travelling in London recently I made use of the free wifi in the underground provided by Virgin internet – speeds were always in the high 90’s and there are how many people in those tube tunnels/ trains/ stations each day ?
There’s a huge difference between providing wifi in an underground tunnel and providing it on an aircraft 30,000ft in the air. Getting 1Gbit fibre (or whatever) and some access points in a train tunnel might sound like a significant undertaking but it’s chump change compared to dealing with satellites.
Well, given that no one on the ground actually ‘wants’ satellite broadband anyway, I guess it makes sense to find a use for it somewhere, LOL!
Anyhow, by the time they get this in-flight wifi up and running, I’m sure NBN will realise that they’ll have to move many many thousands of users off satellite, to make it a viable service for those that remain. Folks in truly remote locations.
It would only take about 93000 users simultaneously streaming netflix or similar in SD (at ~1.5Mbps),
or 32000 in HD, to completely use up all the 140Gbps bandwidth that these two sats have to offer, and that’s not including anything else!
Or similarly, 5600 users downloading large files at 25Mbps at the same time.
Realistically, I think these 2 new sats could support around 40k users, for a solid , but basic service.
Any more is pushing it in this day and age I think.
Will be interesting to see how it all unfolds!
Unfortunately, the Coalition have planned to oversubscribe the service to over 400,000 users.
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