As a kid I did something geeky that no one would need today. A compressed timetable for the train for common times of day that fits inside my wallet. For example if all day the train is 24 and 54 past the hour that is a single row.
No need for that when google maps or a trip planning app can tell you
Still, when I'm traveling I set the expectation that I'm only sporadically available. Not that different from normal life, actually (especially outside of working hours).
As a side note it's unclear if it would even trigger in the air because afaik the trigger was immediate when the signal was sent and the pagers shouldn't have signal at altitude just like a cell phone.
"Starlink delivers up to 40-220 Mbps download speed to each plane, enabling all passengers to access streaming-capable internet at the same time. With latency less than 99 ms, passengers can engage in activities previously not functional in flight, including video calls, online gaming, virtual private networks and other high data rate activities."
From https://www.starlink.com/support/article/da6ca363-da23-c9dc-...
"SpaceX has revealed the official details of its Starlink satellite internet service for aviation, and it promises to deliver speeds of up to 350 Mbps for each airplane.... If Starlink Aviation can truly deliver on SpaceX's promises, that would make it a lot faster than other satellite options that only offer speeds of up to 100 Mbps per plane at most."
https://www.engadget.com/spacex-starlink-aviation-350-mbps-i...
What bothers me more is the discussion of people doing video calls and phone calls on a flight. My neighbor on a recent flight from nyc to seattle jumped into a zoom call from the middle seat of a 100% full flight. It was obnoxious and distracting, and a harbinger for the total collapse of the last vestiges of any form of relaxation and decorum in the sky.
You don’t need to trust me, just search Twitter for “Starlink Hawaiian” for lots of people with similar experiences.
https://x.com/ilyasu/status/1819781267912892714
https://x.com/alexmaxham/status/1848181680273523034
From your comment I assume you have never looked into the pricing for other satellite internet with decent speeds and decent data caps.
When I drove around Africa for 3 years, the cost of even 1GB/month was going to be more than the entire expedition..
(Note: I'm talking about "satellite internet" that isn't Starlink)
Maybe the speed isn't an astronomical leap forward, but the price certainly is.
can't wait for it to be completely rolled out!
...but in general, it's amazing that something impossible 4 years ago is common today, both fast satellite internet and AI - feels like a whole another age.
>Starlink delivers up to 40-220 Mbps download speed to each plane, enabling all passengers to access streaming-capable internet at the same time. With latency less than 99 ms, passengers can engage in activities previously not functional in flight, including video calls, online gaming, virtual private networks and other high data rate activities.
I'm guessing they will severely limit the bandwidth to maybe 1-2Mbps per ticket.
I doubt anyone can stream much of anything.
I wonder if they will go back to a fee, even a tiny one, just to limit the number of users. It will be interesting to see how that works out.
"Qatar Airways has taken the future of in-flight connectivity to greater heights by operating the world’s first Starlink-equipped Boeing 777 aircraft..."
"Qatar Airways has just made aviation history by launching the world's first Starlink-equipped Boeing 777 flight. This groundbreaking development promises to revolutionize how we stay connected at 35,000 feet. Let's dive into what this means for travellers!"
Soon there won't be a patch of grass left in the world where you're not expected to check your email.
Short of the airplane crashing into the sea, I can’t think of much worse happening on a flight than the experience of being forced to listen to one side of someone’s Zoom meeting.
