Text by Ge Rufeng Photo by Zeng Jian Translation by Helen

HOW TO HAVE WI-FI ACCESS IN THE AIR

Text by Ge Rufeng Photo by Zeng Jian Translation by Helen

The recently introduced Airbus A330-300 by China Southern Airlines, equipped with a brand new cabin Internet platform, enables air travelers to have access to the Internet with their personal electronic devices in the plane at an altitude of 10,000 meters. They can browse the website of China Southern Airlines, send and receive e-mails, chat through WeChat, read news events, and watch various online programs. So how does the aircraft guarantee the infl ight Internet access?

Technology is so powerful that it makes the world interconnected, including a plane at an altitude of 10,000 meters. In recent years, airlines have launched in-fl ight Internet services. During the journey, it's nothing new for passengers to browse websites, send and receive mails, go through their moments, upload their selfi e. The once isolated island of information now has Wi-Fi signals.

The infl ight Internet access, unsuitable for optical cable, is different from that on the ground. There are two main options -terrestrial and satellite communications mode.

The terrestrial communication mode works by building a ground-based transmission station along the fl ight route, through which the signals will be transmitted to the plane to gain access to the Internet. Its limitation lies in that the ground-based station cannot be built abroad. So it is not suitable for international routes.

The satellite communication mode depends on the satellites. The signal from the ground is transmitted through the path of quot;Internet-ground stationsatellite-planequot; and fi nally infl ight Internet service is accessible.

At present, the satellite communication mode is the mainstream technology to provide infl ight internet access. Compared to the terrestrial communication mode, the satellite covers a wide area, even the international long-haul route is not affected.

In September 2014, China Southern Airlines provided the infl ight Internet service for the fi rst time on its Guangzhou-Beijing route, later covering international services to Melbourne, Sydney,Amsterdam and so on.

The ten new Airbus A330s of China Southern Airlines are all equipped with Internet access. Economy Class passengers can get free trial qualifi cations,either by applying for it 24 hours before the fl ight on the China Southern Airlines offi cial website or its APP, or through a temporary application during their journey.