I just had the fastest in-flight Wi-Fi experience of my life thanks to Starlink
Sitting for hours in one place on long flights without access to some of life’s comforts and conveniences can be terrible. In those situations, your device is your only real escape, but that experience depends entirely on your Internet connection, which is often spotty on flights — until now.
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Last week, I had to fly from New York City to Maui, Hawaii to go see it Snapdragon Summit. The journey takes 12 hours, the first leg is 11 hours long. Before takeoff, Hawaiian Airlines flight attendants informed all passengers that the flight would have free high-speed Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi.
First impression
I was initially skeptical because of previous experiences with poor in-flight internet connection (even for a fee). However, my first indication that this time would be different was that I didn’t lose connection on takeoff.
Another immediate highlight is the lack of latency. I was able to browse social media, play YouTube videos, and most importantly, send messages throughout the flight with no noticeable difference in speed compared to when I wasn’t on the plane.
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Fascinated by this amazing experience and inspired by other tech enthusiasts who were on the same flight with me and raved about connectivity, on the way home I decided to take the tests Wi-Fi speed at different points of the flight.
Speed test results
To test the speed, I used Ookla Speed Test, a global broadband speed test that measures download speed, or the time it takes to get data from a server on the internet. Download speed is a metric to measure Internet connectivity as it is essential for streaming and downloading content or browsing the web.
When the plane took off, I had a stable connection with a download speed of 169.99 Mbps. To put it into perspective, Ookla shares that download speeds of at least 100 Mbps are enough for most online activities.
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“With speeds of 100 Mbps, you can stream 4K high-definition (HD) video on multiple devices, download large files for work, or stream HD gaming on multiple laptops or phones smart in the same home,” the spokesperson said. location.
That advice is for users who want to figure out how much speed they need for everyday life, which means speeds over 100 Mbps is a particularly impressive feat for an airplane. The website classifies any download speed over 100 Mbps as not only “good” but also “fast” Internet.
Mid-flight, I rechecked the connection and the speed was 265.98 Mbps, as previously set, which is considered high speed. Then, when the plane landed, I checked one last time and the download speed was up to a whopping 334.76 Mbps.
What’s remarkable is that even though the pace changed, my experience remained the same — completely seamless. I used the Internet to browse social media, listen to music I hadn’t previously downloaded from Apple Music, and send messages during the flight. The connection was so stable that they sent green the whole time.
Although I mainly use Wi-Fi for entertainment, this makes a lot of sense for those who need to get work done on a plane because you can successfully upload and work on projects on any any application or service.
Which airlines have Starlink?
Hawaiian, Qatar Airways, Air France and Air New Zealand all offer free Starlink Wi-Fi. United is also planning to add more service. Starlink also offers options for consumers such as residential and roaming services which you can learn more about on Starlink website.
