Starlink will provide airplanes with Internet access at 350 Mbps

The Starlink company announced the appearance of a new method of access to the Internet in civil aviation – through the satellite system with the same name. The novelty is called Starlink Aviation, by analogy with the already existing Starlink Maritime for marine facilities. Thus, Starlink satellite Internet is going to dominate already three environments – on land, at sea and in the air.

In reality, everything is not so smooth and largely depends on the decisions of the owners of the aircraft on which the Starlink Aviation equipment is to be installed. It consists of a low-profile air terminal with a phased antenna array, two wireless access points, a separate power supply system and an unknown number of communications. The cost per kit is $150,000, with a subscription fee of another $15,000 to $25,000 per month.

According to the description, Starlink Aviation provides unlimited Internet access at speeds of up to 350 Mbps with a ping of no more than 20 ms from the moment the user enters the aircraft. This opens up access to the entire spectrum of Internet activity, from online gaming and video conferencing to connecting to servers to share large amounts of data. In practice, however, much will depend on the mercy of the airlines, which will determine the final terms of use of the system for passengers.