Telstra plans to provide 4G mobile broadband to Australian flights

Telstra may have Australia’s most extensive 4G network, but now the telco is looking to conquer the heavens with 4Gtrials for in-flight use in aircrafts. While in-flight internet access is currently available using 3G or satellite technology on airlines across the world on both domestic and international routes, Telstra is working to bring in-flight internet up to speed with what it is calling its Skinet network.

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 1000km/h. 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.