SK Telecom announced on the 15th that it is launching the 'T in-flight Wi-Fi automatic roaming' service in partnership with SK Telink, making it the world's first of its kind.
'T in-flight Wi-Fi automatic roaming' is a service that allows customers to connect to in-flight Wi-Fi automatically without a separate authentication process simply by signing up for the service before boarding. It is an upgrade of the 'T in-flight Wi-Fi' service that SK Telecom introduced last July as the first in the domestic telecommunications industry.
Typically, in-flight Wi-Fi can be used by customers who check available flights on the airline's website and either pay before boarding or after boarding. Moreover, after boarding, customers must go through the airline's portal access, membership registration, or user authentication procedures.
The 'T in-flight Wi-Fi' launched by SK Telecom last year simplified the service usage process by allowing all procedures to be completed without going through the airline's website or the SK Telecom roaming center at the airport. The newly introduced 'T in-flight Wi-Fi automatic roaming' eliminates even the voucher code input procedure by applying automatic authentication technology.
The automatic authentication technology applied to 'T in-flight Wi-Fi automatic roaming' is 'Passpoint.' SK Telecom utilized this technology in airline services for the first time in the world. Passpoint is an automatic authentication technology for Wi-Fi networks, used in various fields such as public Wi-Fi networks for seamless consolidation and enhanced security.
Currently, 'T in-flight Wi-Fi automatic roaming' is available on select flights of Korean Air, and SK Telecom plans to expand the number of aircraft equipped with automatic roaming in-flight Wi-Fi among major domestic airlines in the future.
The T in-flight Wi-Fi fees are based on flight distance, with four types: long-distance (29,700 won), medium-distance (19,800 won), short-distance (17,600 won), and ultra-short-distance (8,800 won), and the fees for automatic roaming and voucher methods are the same.
The ultra-short-distance fee plan is only available on Korean Air and can be used on flights under 2 hours, such as to Osaka, Fukuoka, and Qingdao.