New free, better Delta Wi-Fi in-flight internet is here sjvn/ZDNET
In-flight Wi-Fi always slow and often a bit clumsy. Now, Delta and T-Mobile have teamed up to deliver faster, smoother service and — yes yes — free wifi for its SkyMiles customers.
As one SkyMiles members Delta Platinum Medal and journalists, I was one of the first to try this new service. I used it on business flights to and from Seattle as I reported CloudNativeSecurityCon. I found it much faster and more reliable than my precious airline Wi-Fi experience.
Also: See 8 devices I always take with me on business trips
Although I travel frequently for business, I tend to avoid using airline Wi-Fi. It’s too expensive and too slow. I only use it when I really have to use it to move on to a story. Now, for the first time, I can use it on every trip. And, that’s not just because it’s free. While it’s not even on the same football field as my house AT&T Gigabit Optical Cable connected, it’s fast enough to use for work, music streaming, and even SD-quality video streaming.
At 30,000 feet and flying at 500 mph, Delta’s new Wi-Fi is fast and reliable. sjvn/ZDNET
Specifically, I saw an average download speed of around 7 Megabit/s (Mbps) with an upload speed of 1.3 Mbps. However, with a ping rate of 600 to 1,000 milliseconds, it is completely unusable for video conferencing with Zoom and the like, and only gluttons use it for gaming.
Also: 5 best internet speed tests
On the other hand, I can use Software as a Service office programs such as Google Docs and Microsoft 365 without any problems. Indeed, I wrote this story at 30,000 feet, as if I were sitting in the lobby of a trade show hotel.
The most important difference in this new service is that it is stable and reliable. On all my previous flights, I spent more time connecting and reconnecting with unstable connections. On both of my 2,100-mile flights, my connection was solid.
Today, this Wi-Fi service is available on more than 500 Delta aircraft. By the end of this year, Delta will offer it on all of its more than 700 Viasat satellite-capable aircraft. Delta has announced plans to offer free Wi-Fi to all of its international and regional aircraft by the end of 2024.
Also: Are you a multiple phone hotspot user? Buy this portable hotspot router instead
Please note that while Delta has partnered with T-Mobile, it does not use T-Mobile’s 5G services. It’s another generation of technology. Instead, it sticks with Viasat. That means you won’t see any speed or latency improvements anytime soon.
When your access point is 23,000 miles away in geosynchronous orbit, nothing beats the laws of physics. StarLink solves this problem by using much closer constellations Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellites. At this time, no airline is using StarLink for in-flight internet connectivity.
While I’d love to see 80-100 Mbps on my next flight, honestly, I’m glad I finally have an airline internet connection that I can count on.
