Telstra plans to provide 4G mobile broadband to Australian flights

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.