Inflight Wi-Fi on South African Domestic Flights in 2012

Inflight Wi-Fi: South African Travelers can now "Tweet" or "Facebook" at 30,000 feet

Late last year saw the approval of inflight Wi-Fi by the Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa which will allow the  installation of inflight Wi-Fi equipment onboard South African commercial aircraft by South African internet company WirelessG. This new development will allow South Africa's connected travelers to access 3G wireless internet connection on board all South African domestic flights from early this year.

Travelers in South Africa will now able to surf the internet, access emails, update their favorite social networks and blog during flights but passengers will still not be able to make phone calls. Also, the service will be moderated to curb some passengers more voyeuristic habits :)

South Africa Online: Inflight Wi-Fi on domestic South African Flights

 This new service is expected to be launched from early next month and will be  available on all devices that can be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi. Mobile phones will only connect to the internet via Wi-Fi signals whilst the GSM signal is switched off. Phone calls using GSM and connections to the internet via GSM will not be possible.

South African Airways' low cost domestic subsidiary Mango Airlines will be the first airline in South Africa to offer inflight Wi-Fi and prices are expected to be lower than the current normal 3G rates for users in South Africa. Mango Airlines plans to provide uncapped internet access for the duration of the flights on a fixed fee basis instead of charging users on a per MB basis as is common in South Africa.

Onboard connectivity is  expected to provide business travelers with constant internet access on domestic flights within South Africa and will give airlines that will offer the service a winning edge over the competition in South Africa's highly competitive LCC market.



 This service, which works via satellite, will be moderated to exclude access to potentially offensive web content, but there will be no sign up costs and no contract tie-ins for passengers. WirelessG, has signed an agreement with Row 44, the US based company that provides internet service on board domestic flights in the US for the roll out of the service.



South African domestic travelers will in 2012 begin to enjoy some of the frills enjoyed by their counterparts in the international markets.

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