Narrative:

On departure ran into numerous areas of adverse weather; categorized as moderate to heavy and some extreme precipitation areas by ATC. The weather radar does a good job providing guidance for avoidance out to about 80 nm. Beyond that distance; the effectiveness is greatly reduced (in my opinion). We were able to utilize wsi (weather services international) and its radar/satellite data to give us a longer range view and provide exceptional guidance; especially when compared to our onboard weather radar. As a result we were able to avoid problem areas providing our passengers and crew the safest possible course/route of flight. A limitation is the weak wi-fi signal on our aircraft. Improving the wi-fi signal [and] providing wsi data to every flight must be a priority as this is an invaluable asset!an example; [on] our return flight; wifi [was] intermittent to inop and numerous thunderstorms during [the] final hour required [constant] ACARS messaging between our flight and our dispatcher. Extremely distracting.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 Captain reported a weak Wi-Fi signal hindered the effectiveness of the WSI (Weather Services International) program.

Narrative: On departure ran into numerous areas of adverse weather; categorized as moderate to heavy and some extreme precipitation areas by ATC. The weather radar does a good job providing guidance for avoidance out to about 80 nm. Beyond that distance; the effectiveness is greatly reduced (in my opinion). We were able to utilize WSI (Weather Services International) and its radar/satellite data to give us a longer range view and provide exceptional guidance; especially when compared to our onboard weather radar. As a result we were able to avoid problem areas providing our passengers and crew the safest possible course/route of flight. A limitation is the weak Wi-Fi signal on our aircraft. Improving the Wi-Fi signal [and] providing WSI data to EVERY flight must be a priority as this is an invaluable asset!An example; [on] our return flight; WiFi [was] intermittent to inop and numerous thunderstorms during [the] final hour required [constant] ACARS messaging between our flight and our Dispatcher. Extremely distracting.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.