Chinese airlines to offer Wi-Fi by 2016

Passengers on Chinese airlines will be able to surf the Internet, make phone calls and watch real-time TV programs during flights under a government plan that requires Chinese airlines to set up satellite communications systems.

In-flight communications services will vastly improve by 2016, according to the plan by the Civil Aviation Administration. Work will start next year to install satellite communications equipment on all domestic commercial planes and will be completed within three years, the administration said in a statement on its website Thursday. “The technology will allow airlines to provide a wide range of communication services to passengers as enormous data can be transmitted between planes and ground stations at speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second,” it said. "The new move is aimed to strengthen speech communication between the cockpit and the ground," said an official surnamed Ma from the administration publicity department. Now that high-speed train passengers can surf the Web and make phone calls, experts say that airlines have to offer similar services to vie for potential customers. In mid-September, China Eastern Airlines Co. (600115.SH), the country's second-largest carrier by passengers, successfully tested the air-ground wireless broadband communication facility on its flight from Chengdu in Sichuan province, to Xi'an of Shaanxi province, China Daily reported, citing an insider from the Shanghai-based carrier. In China, Air China is reported to be the first domestic carrier to offer Wi-Fi service on its flights. In November 2011, an Air China Boeing 737-800 aircraft tested its wireless local area network at the Beijing Capital International Airport, the Shanghai-based Evening News reported. Currently, Chinese airlines mainly use high-frequency radio for telecommunication that is jarred by signals from mobile phones and other electronic devices. Experts suggested the wireless network signal will be put into a special frequency band so that the network will not disturb the aircraft's electronics and navigation facilities. The airline industry is also undertaking reform in other areas: foreign airlines were recently freed from regulations requiring them to use a state-owned company for booking services, and many new airport construction and renovation projects have been approved.