Airline travellers in sub-Saharan Africa should soon be able to surf the Internet at 35 000 feet. Internet provider WirelessG is in talks with airlines in the region to begin offering the service within the next few months.

The technology still requires Civil Aviation Authority approval, but WirelessG is confident of getting the go-ahead soon to begin offering the service on both local and long-haul flights, says CEO Carel van der Merwe (pictured).

WirelessG says it has signed an agreement with US-based Row 44, the company that provides in-flight Wi-Fi Internet service to Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and, in 2010, through Norwegian Air Shuttle.

“After extensive testing in the US, the first complete set of hardware will arrive in SA shortly,” Van der Merwe says. “This will be used to set up a ground-based proof-of-concept in SA to test the complete solution, including the satellites that will be used for the commercial product.”

WirelessG has secured an exclusive distribution agreement with Row44 for the entire African continent. However, it must still determine the feasibility of providing in-flight Wi-Fi across the continent.

Van der Merwe says he can’t reveal yet which airlines will be the first to offer the in-flight service. WirelessG is also not saying how much it costs. He adds that subscribers to G-Connect, WirelessG’s prepaid Internet service, will be able to use their accounts on-board the aircraft.

“With the G-Connect sign-up process being free of cost and contracts, we are expecting many travellers to utilise the advantage of our in-flight offering,” says van der Merwe. — Staff reporter, TechCentral