Lufthansa plans to offer broadband wifi access on its short and medium-haul flights in Europe, starting in summer 2016 with about 180 planes.
The German national carrier is adopting technology that uses a mix of ground-based and satellite-based receivers from Deutsche Telekom and satellite firm Inmarsat. The cost hasn't been revealed.
Bloomberg News reports:
"Deutsche Telekom will build 300 sites using high-speed LTE technology... That network will link with Inmarsat’s satellites to provide full coverage and capacity in the high-density European airspace."
In the US, in-flight wifi is much more common than in Europe (where Norwegian is the notable exception in offering broadband wifi). But US in-flight wifi is also much slower than what's currently available on the ground at broadband speeds on either continent.
Lufthansa's solution is satellite-based wifi, which is much faster than the ground-based systems more common in the US. Satellite-based wifi also works on international flights and over bodies of water.
The airline's rollout will come in stages, starting with Inmarsat's satellite service and then, once it is completed, the air-to-ground component of the upcoming European Aviation Network -- which other airlines are invited to join.
Next year, Gogo plans to launch a satellite-based Wi-Fi system that can offer speeds of up to 70 megabits per second. "Seven airlines have already committed to testing the system on a trial basis or installing it on their entire fleet," according to the Los Angeles Times.
But back to Lufthansa. In a statement, Lufthansa Group added:
"Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik are additionally planning a long-term global partnership in order to also be able to offer other airlines a modern on-board IT platform (BoardConnect) with broadband Internet access that can be used for a number of different purposes."
See the full story at Bloomberg News: Lufthansa Europe Flights to Get Web Access in Inmarsat Deal