Internet on Airplanes over USA and Canada soon in 5G

Air-to-ground services leveraging 5G technologies for North American airline operators will be reality shortly.

The new air-to-ground connectivity from SmartSky provides Honeywell customers with another option for internet connectivity that delivers a user experience similar to that found at home. Honeywell is also a provider of Inmarsat’s GX Aviation via satellite, which is powered by Honeywell’s JetWave™ hardware. Additionally, Honeywell offers safety solutions that provide direct data link communications between pilots and air traffic controllers via L-band satellite networks.

SmartSky’s air-to-ground network leverages 5G technologies to provide a reliable, secure and affordable IFC solution for airlines that want full-functioning inflight connectivity for their regional aircraft.

The SmartSky network delivers a secure, low-latency signal to every aircraft in the network, ensuring high performance regardless of network loading. Each beam communicates with just one aircraft at a time, compared with similar offerings that share beams among several aircraft. In the cabin, passengers will experience inflight connectivity similar to that of their ground-based office solutions. This level of service allows passengers to make their time in the air as productive as possible. That could include running cloud-based applications, connecting via virtual private networks, conducting significant data transfers, surfing the web or streaming videos.