The first domestic WiFi flight experience: average internet speed per person is 2M
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Chatting with friends on WeChat, browsing the web, and watching a half-time live basketball game at an altitude of 30,000 feet... Such scenes appeared on China Eastern Airlines' first domestic communication satellite broadband air-to-ground commercial flight MU5101 yesterday. The reporter found that browsing Weibo, web pages, and communicating with friends through WeChat can be easily achieved on the flight yesterday, while watching videos is sometimes relatively slow. After testing yesterday, the average Internet speed of the 80 trial users on the plane was about 2M. Someone watched live basketball on the plane On China Eastern Airlines MU5101 flight yesterday, 6-year-old Mao Xuanwei flew alone to Beijing to spend the summer vacation with her mother. "Mom, I'm very good, don't worry." She also made an online video call with her mother in Beijing on the plane. The flight took off on time at 8 am yesterday. A quarter of an hour later, when the plane climbed to an altitude of about 3,000 meters, the network could be used. The reporter immediately turned on the laptop and iPad to connect to the wireless hotspot on the plane, and the connection was successful after entering the verification code. The reporter found that it was easy to chat with friends on WeChat and browse the web on the iPad. One person even watched a live video of a basketball game on the plane. When browsing the web, information interaction can be unimpeded. But the speed is relatively slow when shopping on Taobao. On the flight the reporter experienced, there were 80 people surfing the Internet at the same time. It was easy to "get stuck" when everyone opened the video at the same time. The staff told reporters that the plane can currently meet the needs of 40-50 people watching videos at the same time. Mr. Lin, a passenger who experienced the Internet, said: "In the past, flights were isolated from the outside world. Now you can surf the Internet. In the future, you can do other things on the plane besides sleeping." It is understood that the theoretical communication speed that the data communication of China Eastern Airlines MU5101 flight yesterday can achieve is 50 megabits, but due to the loss of signal transmission and other factors, the actual maximum bandwidth of communication between satellite and aircraft is 32 megabits. The network will be automatically cut off when encountering turbulence. The excitement of surfing the Internet on the plane yesterday was briefly interrupted at about 8:50. "It seems that there is no signal, the network signal is gone." The experiencers almost discovered that the network was interrupted at the same time. At this time, the technician explained that in order to ensure the safety of passengers and aircraft flight, when the aircraft encounters severe turbulence in air flow, or other situations that may affect flight and communication safety by continuing to provide network services, the network will be automatically disconnected. "There was turbulence just now, and it will be automatically restored after a while." The technician said. Sure enough, the network was restored after a while, but it was a bit troublesome that I needed to enter the verification code again to log in. The reporter also encountered a small embarrassment yesterday. Because it was the first time to use an iPad to log in to WeChat, I was required to fill in the verification code received by the mobile phone, but the mobile phone was still not available for network flights. Why can't I use the mobile phone? Zhang Chi, deputy director of the Transformation Office of China Eastern Airlines, said that the mobile phone may emit unauthenticated communication signals, and the security is still unclear. How long it can be free is still undecided Foreign airlines believe that long-distance flight WiFi services have more commercial value. But in the view of relevant persons in charge of China Eastern Airlines, there are many foreign passengers on international flights, and they prefer to read or rest on the plane. However, the demand for domestic route networks in my country is greater, and domestic passengers prefer "people-network integration". Taking the Beijing-Shanghai line as an example, the daily transportation volume can reach 5,000 to 6,000 people, which has more market potential than the daily passenger capacity of hundreds of long-distance international routes. Therefore, passenger payment may not become the main profit point. Therefore, in the world's second largest civil aviation market with the largest population and the fastest growth, in-flight Internet access for the general public may gain greater value. How long can "free" last? Relevant personnel said that there is no conclusion yet. It is understood that the cost of implementing air-ground Internet services on airplanes is relatively expensive, much higher than the cost of ground Internet services. The reporter learned from the interview that the cost of modifying an aircraft is hundreds of thousands of dollars. At the same time, the cost of renting traffic for China Eastern Airlines is not low. However, in general, Internet access on flights is the direction of development. On flights with air-ground Internet access, unaccompanied children can achieve real-time interaction with their relatives on the ground. If there is an emergency, such as a patient in urgent need of rescue at high altitude, the staff can conduct air-ground video consultation with the ground medical unit in time. At present, China Eastern Airlines has modified two Airbus A330 aircraft. The commercial test flight of China Eastern Airlines WiFi flights will continue until September 30 this year, during which time passengers will have free Internet access. After the test flight test is completed, the aircraft will still appear on the Beijing-Shanghai route to provide Internet services to passengers, but the flight number is not certain. Relevant personnel from China Eastern Airlines also emphasized that the Internet will not be open to all passengers on board during the test period. If more than 300 passengers access the Internet at the same time, the quality of in-flight service may be affected. Recently, dozens of passengers on each flight will be able to access the Internet for free, and the scope of opening will be gradually increased. According to the plan, starting from September this year, all 20 Boeing B777 aircraft introduced by China Eastern Airlines will have the hardware and software requirements for in-flight Internet services. As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity. |
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