Originally posted in Dutch by NU.nl
In Screen Time, tech reporter Rutger Otto writes weekly about the internet. This time, he discusses Wi-Fi on airplanes.
Last week, I took the train to London. I prefer this to flying in almost every way. You don’t have to arrive at the station so early, there’s less hassle at customs, and after a few hours you’re right in the heart of the city.
Still, there’s one thing I miss about flying: the lack of internet. On the train, you can watch TikToks to your heart’s content, scroll through Reels on Instagram, and stream series on Netflix. On a plane, you’re pretty much offline. A blessing! Those hours in the air, at the start of a vacation or weekend getaway, are often an ideal time to force yourself to unwind and get into relaxation mode.
That’s why I think it’s a shame that Wi-Fi has become increasingly available on planes in recent years. However, the options remain limited. With a free login, you can now send messages via WhatsApp on many airlines. And if you’re willing to pay, you can also stay online at all times on the plane.
The options are usually expensive (and the results are often disappointing). Wi-Fi expert Jan Buis compares it to how internet was offered in hotels years ago. “You had to buy a package to be able to use Wi-Fi,” he says. “You paid more money for more bandwidth. On planes, it’s the same thing: if you want more space on the network reserved for you during the trip, the costs go up.”
Buis explains that, in principle, it is easier to offer Wi-Fi on an airplane than in people’s homes. “It’s a metal tube, so if you place a Wi-Fi point at the front and back, you basically cover the entire space. The signal doesn’t have to pass through rooms or walls.”
In practice, the internet connection looks slightly different. In Europe and over the oceans, passengers depend on internet reception via satellites. This is often slower and the strength of the signal is sensitive to weather conditions. In the United States, ground-based antennas are more commonly used, so the signal does not have to travel as far and is more stable. The disadvantage is that without towers, you have no range.
So it’s not all that simple. But with more and more internet satellites orbiting low around the Earth, for example via Elon Musk’s company Starlink, Wi-Fi in the air may also become better, faster, and cheaper in the future. Which is exactly what I don’t want.
But many people will like being able to stay connected in the air. Buis is one of those people, because he sees the advantages. “When you fly a lot, things sometimes go wrong,” he says. “If you miss your connection or your suitcase isn’t on the flight, you can already anticipate that while you’re on the plane.”
Initial translation done by DeepL, followed by personal adaptions.