Working of in-flight Internet

News: Air India has announced the rollout of Wi-fi Internet connectivity services on selected domestic and international flights. 

Technologies used to provide in-flight internet

• It operates primarily on two kinds of technology:  
  • Ground based cellular towers-
  • An antenna, placed around the plane’s belly, picks up signals from the nearest tower on ground to provide in-flight internet connectivity. 
  • It is also known as Air to Ground Technology (ATG) 
  • Its major drawback is that connection is lost or disrupted when the plane passes over water bodies, deserts or sparsely populated areas without enough cellular towers. 
  • Satellite based connectivity-
  • An antenna, mounted on top of aircraft, is used to transmit internet from ground station to aircraft through satellites.  
  • It offers wider coverage and seamless connectivity, particularly when aircraft is flying over regions without ground towers. 

Working of in-flight internet connectivity 

• Multiple Wi-Fi antenna are there inside the aircraft cabin, which receive signals from passengers’ devices. These in cabin antenna transmit signals to an on-board server. 
• After this, the process is different for both ATG and satellite-based connectivity. 
• In ATG technology, antenna is used to transmit signals from the server on board the aircraft to on-land cellular towers. In return, the tower responds with signals to the aircraft. 
• In satellite-based connectivity, antenna is used to transmit signals to a satellite, which relays them to a ground station. In response, signals are sent from the ground station to the satellite, which relays them to the aircraft.