Wi-Fi News

U.S. Airline Wi-Fi Revolution?

Thales, a latecomer to the US Airlines Wi-Fi party, plans to revolutionize the industry using its innovative technology.

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The French company is working with SES, a satellite operator from Luxembourg, with the goal of launching SES-17, which, unlike the currently used satellites, will be optimized for the aviation industry.

As a result, Thales and SES will be able to offer high bandwidth Internet access even on the most trafficked routes. Both companies have mentioned that the speed will be big enough for high quality video streaming, online gaming and even live television.

The plan is to provide an experience which is similar with the one that the passengers experience in their homes, according to Thales’ CEO, Patrice Caine.

According to Data Alliance, the most important players on the US Airline Wi-Fi market are Gogo, Viasat and Inmarsat. Still, these companies use their satellites for home broadband Internet services as well, so Thales and SES may have a competitive advantage when they launch their dedicated satellite.

MegaMimo Promises to Triple Wi-Fi speeds

A new Wi-Fi technology named MegaMimo 2.0 promises to coordinate several access points at the same time, without generating any interference. According to its inventors, MegaMimo will double the range and will triple network speed in comparison with the fastest standard today – 802.11ac.

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The name gives it away: MegaMimo is an improved version of MIMO, the acronym for multiple-input, multiple-output, a technology that uses several radios and antennas, and thus causes quite a bit of interference. With MegaMimo, the frequencies are processed, synchronizing their phases, and thus significantly reducing the interference.

Wi-Fi Assistant Saves Nexus Owners Data

Google has recently added a new feature to its Nexus devices in the US, which are running Android 5.1 or a newer version of the operating system.

Called Wi-Fi Assistant, the new option will automatically connect to the free Wi-Fi hotspots in the area, with the goal of cutting down data usage, and thus your cell phone bill.

The feature has been launched in the US for now, but it will be made available to all the Nexus users in Canada, Mexico, UK and all the Nordic countries.

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If you are the happy owner of a Google Nexus, you can easily discover Wi-Fi Assistant in the phone’s Settings -> Networking menu. Whenever Wi-Fi Assistant is being used, you will see a small icon in the upper corner of the screen – a key icon.

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