import subprocess, platform
   
   iproutegw = subprocess.Popen('ip route | grep default', shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
   
   gw = str(iproutegw.stdout.read()).split()
   ipgw=str(gw[2])
   
   #print(ipgw)
   #print(type(ipgw))
   
   def ping(host):
       """
       Returns True if host responds to a ping request
       """
       import subprocess, platform
   
       # Ping parameters as function of OS
       ping_str = "-n 1" if  platform.system().lower()=="windows" else "-c 5"
       args = "ping " + " " + ping_str + " " + host
       need_sh = False if  platform.system().lower()=="windows" else True
   
       # Ping
       return subprocess.call(args, shell=need_sh) == 0
   
   # test call
   print(ping(ipgw))