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uniqs
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multiverse
join:2005-01-22
Oakland, CA

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Southwest Airlines Wifi is Slower than early modems from the 90's

I am aboard a Southwest plane and just ran the DSLReports speed test on my laptop. 34 kbps down/ 40 kbps up. I remember when I bought my first modem that would do 50 k, and at the time I was happy to download small pictures in under a minute.

In this day and age, I would think Southwest could hire some router programmers to throttle connections in favor of their business travelers. Instead, the guy next to me is watching TV while I can barely squeak out this post. (It took thirty seconds to load this page.)

Forget about VPN or Remote Desktop. The connection negotiation will time out before it can even finish the handshake.

I want my $8 back, Southwest. This is crap.

PS: I am aware of the half-second latency inherent in satellite connections. I can accept a half second latency, but the streaming speed is appallingly slow as well. Bad job, Southwest.

MSauk
MSauk
Premium Member
join:2002-01-17
Sandy, UT

MSauk

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I noticed the same thing when I was flying southwest. Their speeds were crap.

LazMan
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join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

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You're 34,000 feet in the air; travelling around 500 mph, and complaining your internet isn't fast enough?

#FirstWorldProblems just doesn't seem to cover it...

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
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join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

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270 people sharing a 1.5mbps connection. ewww
moes
Premium Member
join:2009-11-15
Cedar City, UT

moes

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and wants special treatment because "business class" yeah not happening that's not. 1.5mbit shared with that many people.
NefCanuck
join:2007-06-26
Mississauga, ON

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I think the question really boils down to "What was promised" vs. "what was delivered"

If Southwest Airlines promises a minimum speed available to each passenger on their wifi connections and fails to meet that standard, then yeah there's some screaming to do.

If on the other hand all they promise you is a "connection" with no guarantees as to its "usability" and they make that disclaimer clear before you cough up the $8 or whatever they are charging for that connection, then as the saying goes: "You pays your money and takes your chances"

NefCanuck
TheMG
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Canada
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said by multiverse:

Instead, the guy next to me is watching TV while I can barely squeak out this post. (It took thirty seconds to load this page.)

Are you sure the guy next to you was streaming the video? He could have been watching something he had previously downloaded onto his device before getting on the flight.

Louis CK
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alg
Passionately apathetic
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join:2001-04-10
Houston, TX

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I'm a frequent flyer on Southwest and the poor speeds on their wifi is frequently complained about on sites like Flyertalk. It's very hit or miss but even at the best of times it's still just okay at best.
said by TheMG:

said by multiverse:

Instead, the guy next to me is watching TV while I can barely squeak out this post. (It took thirty seconds to load this page.)

Are you sure the guy next to you was streaming the video? He could have been watching something he had previously downloaded onto his device before getting on the flight.

In addition to the regular wifi they offer a streaming live TV option. Unlike the wifi it actually works quite well which raises the suspicion that they are allocating more bandwidth to the TV portion and not enough to the regular wifi. Southwest claims that they work over different delivery systems but you can't help but get frustrated when you can stream good quality TV but can't check your email.

PoloDude
Premium Member
join:2006-03-29
Aiken, SC

PoloDude

Premium Member

I would assume that they are 2 different networks
Live streaming provisioned from satellite feed , that just needs to be streamed of wifi internally on the plane. No actual internet connection needed.
Actual internet is over a Sat link like Hughes net.

Just my guess

jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

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I am going to Fremont CA thanks for the heads up I will not be paying the $8 I will be spending the 2 hours listing to my MP3 collection and watching movies on my phone.
Thanks for the heads up.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme to alg

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said by alg:

I'm a frequent flyer on Southwest and the poor speeds on their wifi is frequently complained about on sites like Flyertalk. It's very hit or miss but even at the best of times it's still just okay at best.

said by TheMG:

said by multiverse:

Instead, the guy next to me is watching TV while I can barely squeak out this post. (It took thirty seconds to load this page.)

Are you sure the guy next to you was streaming the video? He could have been watching something he had previously downloaded onto his device before getting on the flight.

In addition to the regular wifi they offer a streaming live TV option. Unlike the wifi it actually works quite well which raises the suspicion that they are allocating more bandwidth to the TV portion and not enough to the regular wifi. Southwest claims that they work over different delivery systems but you can't help but get frustrated when you can stream good quality TV but can't check your email.

Agreed. I just flew back into Houston today from Orlando and the internet speeds were terrible. They felt slower than AOL dial-up. The streaming television service worked quite well though.
ilikeme

ilikeme to PoloDude

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said by PoloDude:

I would assume that they are 2 different networks
Live streaming provisioned from satellite feed , that just needs to be streamed of wifi internally on the plane. No actual internet connection needed.
Actual internet is over a Sat link like Hughes net.

Just my guess

The system Southwest uses is satellite based. Most of the channels available were the same thing you would get if you streamed the network from their site or app on iOS or Android. It was not their normal cable or Dish Network/DirecTV feeds. NBC and FOX were the NYC affiliates.

jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

jchambers28 to LazMan

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If they allowed you to use your LTE would it work and that speed and that far up?

LazMan
Premium Member
join:2003-03-26
Beverly Hills, CA

LazMan

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said by jchambers28:

If they allowed you to use your LTE would it work and that speed and that far up?

No - the antennas used for cell service/data are directional - they're typically aligned level, or with a slightly downward angle, depending on how high they're mounted; to provide coverage at ground level. Cities with lots of high-rise buildings may have some towers with secondary antennas pointed at a slightly upwards angle, to cover users above the height of the tower.

It's actually not uncommon to be at or under a cell site, and get poor to no reception, because you're outside the antenna's range of coverage.

Some of the ground based aerial data services basically use cell antennas pointed 'up' to provide coverage - but it's pretty spotty, again, because they are so directional.

(Besides being a Firefighter, I actually do a lot of work with cell and telephone companies... )

jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

jchambers28

Premium Member

ok thanks I had no idea.
jchambers28

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too bad they cant offer you free wifi.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

They can. They just don't want to.

jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

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jchambers28

Premium Member

read some info about Dallas love field they are charging for wifi also sounds like I am using LTE while I am there Stupid bastards. I am paying $300 for a flight they could at least offer free wifi.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

I always just teather to my phone anyways. Its usually faster than public WiFi and more secure. I have 20GB of data so its not really a big deal.

alg
Passionately apathetic
Premium Member
join:2001-04-10
Houston, TX

alg to jchambers28

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to jchambers28
Dallas Love Field has free wifi that I used about a week ago. It might have a time limit on it though.

ilikeme
Premium Member
join:2002-08-27
Stafford, TX

ilikeme

Premium Member

Yea, I have used it at DFW and Houston Hobby and am not aware of any time limits on those.

jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

jchambers28 to alg

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to alg
30 MIN limit going to be there for 3 hours.

removed
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join:2002-02-08
Houston, TX

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said by jchambers28:

read some info about Dallas love field they are charging for wifi also sounds like I am using LTE while I am there Stupid bastards. I am paying $300 for a flight they could at least offer free wifi.

Are you traveling to Dallas to meet up with Darius Rucker?

jchambers28
Premium Member
join:2007-05-12
Peculiar, MO

jchambers28

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No I am going Fremont Cal there is a 3 hour lay over in Dallas for a plane change then off to the bay area.
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suppose to go back to Dallas next moth to go get a new repo tow truck.

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