Delta Airlines conducted trial tests of new equipment providing reliable and fast Wi-Fi Internet. Broadband connection Starlink — product of one of the divisions of SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk. The system uses more than 2 000 of its own satellites that are in orbit. Starlink customers can access the Internet at speeds from 100 Mb/s to 200 Mb/s almost anywhere in the world.
For his part, Elon Musk let slip last year that his Starlink is working on obtaining a certificate for the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft, “because they serve the largest number of people.”
The US Federal Communications Commission approved the idea of testing Starlink for use in flight quite quickly, but without the Federal Aviation Administration, further business is not will move: you must first certify equipment for satellite Internet, and then install it on commercial liners.
Currently, Delta offers passengers free correspondence in iMessage, WhatsApp and other instant messengers, and charges for all other Internet services fee. The carrier uses Viasat Wi-Fi, which, according to experts, is on average twice as fast as it was in 2019.
Delta promises to upgrade its built-in Wi-Fi by the end of 2022.
Today, the only airline in the US to offer passengers unlimited free in-flight Wi-Fi. is JetBlue.