First Wi-Fi enabled flight in SA
The first Wi-Fi enabled flight in South Africa is set to take off on 8 May 2012, with Mango providing the plane and WirelessG providing the service via satellite in partnership with Vodacom.
Final pricing has not been released yet, but WirelessG/G-Connect previously indicated that people can expect to pay less for in-flight Wi-Fi than what they pay for 3G data.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved the installation and use of in-flight Wi-Fi enabled equipment on board South African commercial aircraft in October 2011, clearing the way for a commercial in-flight Internet service.
According to WirelessG, the idea is to offer uncapped access for the duration of the flight on a fixed fee basis, rather than charge per megabyte.
WirelessG said that the G-Connect in-flight vouchers are likely to cost between R50 and R100 each.
The service will become available on Mango flights first, with plans to cover other airlines in future.
WirelessG is using technology from Row 44 to deliver broadband access on South African aircraft. The technology makes use of satellite-based connectivity for back-haul purposes with speeds of up to 4Mbps.
WirelessG in-flight Wi-Fi
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