Gogo, which develops in-flight Internet and digital entertainment solutions, last week unveiled a new system capable of delivering more than 60 Mbps to the aircraft, meaning faster connectivity and more bandwidth. Virgin America will be the launch partner of the new service, which is expected to be available in the second half of 2014.
The new service, called Gogo GTO or Ground to Orbit, is a proprietary hybrid technology that combines existing satellite technologies with Gogo’s Air to Ground (ATG) cellular network. In a first, Gogo’s new technology will use satellite for receive only (transmission to the plane) and Gogo’s Air to Ground network for the return link (transmission to the ground).
In-flight Wi-Fi Internet has become one of most eagerly desired airline services. But Internet speeds have been slow and costs have been high. In addition, not all domestic airlines offer Internet services. Virgin America and Delta Air Lines are the only two domestic carriers to offer Internet service across their domestic fleets. Until now, most in-flight Internet technology has been “downward” facing, meaning it works “air to ground.” But with Gogo’s new GTO, Internet service will by “upward” facing by using satellite technology, at least in part.
“GTO is the next step in our technological evolution and is a ground breaking new technology for the commercial aviation market in North America,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO. “When we launched our in-flight Internet service five years ago, we were able to deliver 3.1 Mbps per aircraft through our Air to Ground network. About a year ago, we began rapidly deploying our next generation Air to Ground service that took peak speeds to 9.8 Mbps. GTO will now take peak speeds to more than 60 Mbps. That’s a 20-fold increase from where we started.”
Gogo will use a Ku antenna developed specifically for receive-only service. Existing two-way satellite antennas in the commercial aviation market have limited power for transmissions so they don’t interfere with other satellites. Gogo’s receive-only antenna will be two times more spectrally efficient and half the height of other antennas in the commercial aviation market. The low profile of the antenna will result in much less drag and therefore fuel burn on the aircraft and, ultimately, greater operational efficiencies for airlines.
Gogo’s new satellite antenna can also leverage a number of today’s Ku band satellites as well as future Ku band satellites, including spot beam Ku satellites. This enables Gogo to take advantage of new Ku satellite technologies as they become available without having to install a new antenna. The ability to use multiple satellites avoids reliance on a single satellite and provides a more robust and reliable network for airline partners and our end users. The system is also backed up by Gogo’s Air to Ground network, which gives the service significant advantages in terms of resiliency.
Gogo will seek FAA approval for the new service in the 2014. Because the antenna is receive only, the company doesn’t believe there is any additional FCC licensing needed for the new antenna.
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