I am not a professional smartphone tech. nor I.T. trained. You may wish to follow along with my own layperson thoughts that I am happy to share here after my research. Your own thinking & conclusions are also necessary. Hopefully I can save you some time by sending some of your thoughts in helpful directions & towards useful questions.
Inflight WiFi service on many U.S. commercial flights; yes. 5G connectivity during flights, not quite yet I surmise. Here’s a reminder of why the delay. February 1, 2024 is still the deadline (last I looked) for U.S. airlines to comply with a requirement that should make 5G safer for all while flying. Safety concern has been: potential interference of 5G with aircraft electronics (mostly: aircraft radio altimeters, & we need them to work properly).
In light of the deadline we may get the faster 5G connectivity on North American flights soon, perhaps this Spring.
5G technology “is already deployed” in many other countries. One example of a complication/difference though: as of 2 years ago, “France [was using] lower power levels for 5G than those authorized in the United States”.
If no 5G speed yet, there is already inflight WiFi on many airlines. As of this month, costs (& level of service?) of inflight WiFi on 20 of the top airlines varied. The extra inflight charges ranged from “free” (= included in ticket price?) to USD$49.95. There are also sometimes monthly & yearly rates. I read that some travel credit cards offer free inflight WiFi access as a perk. Another example of free: per another article this month “JetBlue…[still] gives free & fast wifi to all its passengers”.
A bottom line, as usual: if inflight WiFi is important to your travel plans, best to confirm all the details for your particular flight the best you can. Sometimes the assigned plane gets changed out for various reasons. & Sometimes not every plane in an airline’s fleet has WiFi.
Maybe as early as next month: many North American flights with inflight 5G connectivity.