Kaizen is a Japanese business term that basically means you are committed to finding ways to continually make measurable improvements to products or services. It’s a pretty accurate way to describe Gogo Business Aviation’s approach to constantly upgrading wireless technologies to keep up with changing user demands.
“Our user patterns and behaviors have changed a lot since we launched our first ATG network more than two decades ago,” says Sergio Aguirre, President and COO of Gogo Business Aviation. “Since then, we’ve continually upgraded our networks to take full advantage of the newest technologies and RF modulations.”
And if there’s one industry that’s ridden the wave of technology to the fullest, it’s been wireless connectivity. Just when you think you’ve got it nailed, the next leap comes along.
“Anytime you deploy a network, you immediately start working on the next one,” Aguirre explains. “It takes a lot of long-term planning and continual effort to prepare for that next step. That’s where we are now. It’s time to take the next step and upgrade our ATG network to the next technological level—LTE.”
AVANCE is the first step towards advanced.
While there’s nothing wrong with Gogo’s current Classic ATG network—which over 3,500 Gogo Business Aviation customers rely on daily to stay connected—Aguirre says that the transition to LTE (Long-Term Evolution) is necessary because LTE is the new standard for the telecommunications industry globally.
Mark your calendars: the legacy or ‘Classic’ ATG network is expected to go offline in early 2026. If you want to continue enjoying your current high level of Gogo ATG connectivity, you need to make your move to the AVANCE platform, 4G which is LTE ready, before the plug is pulled.
But, not to worry, Gogo’s got your back. As with its prior product development programs, instead of doing things the traditional way, Gogo’s engineering team took a unique approach and developed a hardware solution that can evolve along with technological advancements.
“Our AVANCE platform is that solution,” Aguirre explains. “It is software-based and software upgradable so we can transition customers to emerging technologies like LTE, 5G, and even Gogo Galileo which is our LEO satellite connectivity solution. And we can do that in a gracious and seamless manner. AVANCE protects customers’ hardware investment while minimizing the need for aircraft downtime for upgrades.”
Speaking of aircraft downtime, Aguirre says that the company’s engineers have worked hard to develop installation guidelines for AVANCE systems so that upgrades can be completed as quickly as possible.
“It’s not a difficult installation,” he says. “For the AVANCE L3, you change the LRU, add some additional I/O, and change some cabling. AVANCE L5 requires that we change the fuselage antenna to a small dual directional bidirectional unit.
“Again, once the AVANCE hardware is in the airplane, future upgrades can be as simple as downloading new software,” Aguirre continues. “The simplicity of the installation is a big reason why we are encouraging customers to upgrade when their aircraft is in for routine maintenance or inspections. It’s not extensive; it just takes planning.”
Sooner than you think, 2026 will arrive.
So, you ask, if the Classic ATG network isn’t going offline until 2026, why make the change now? Well, over 3,500 customers are currently on Gogo’s current network. If all of them wait until, say, this time in 2025 to make the switch, it’s the ADS-B kerfuffle, part two. Nobody wants that.
“We’re not trying to create a false sense of urgency for our customers, but we do want to make them aware of the upcoming change so they can plan and budget for it now,” Aguirre says. “Only a certain number of authorized MROs are able to do the AVANCE installations. Once they are saturated, it becomes a waiting game.”
And we all know how much business aircraft owners hate to wait.
Aguirre also stresses that operators who choose to upgrade to a Gogo AVANCE L3 or L5 package sooner rather than later will see an immediate improvement in the speed, reliability, and capabilities of their connectivity experience.
“It’s like moving from a ‘brick’ phone to an iPhone, because there’s an immediate benefit with the upgrade,” Aguirre explains. “For example, a Gogo Classic ATG customer who upgrades to an AVANCE L3 system will see an immediate boost with better Wi-Fi and router technology built into the AVANCE system. Then they’ll see another 40 percent improvement throughout, when we make the switch to the LTE network.”
While an improvement in Wi-Fi and router technology is admittedly hard to quantify, it’s easier to relate to when you hear about the benefits from someone who uses the network every day. Jason Talley recently upgraded his ATG 5000 with an AVANCE L3 in his Citation CJ2+, and he says, “I'm not easily impressed, but AVANCE L3 has really impressed me. I was wholly unprepared for the difference in performance. It really is a night-and-day difference.”
He says that while his legacy ATG 5000 was “adequate” for basic connectivity, there were situations when he didn’t allow others to connect to the inflight Wi-Fi for lack of bandwidth. Now, with AVANCE L3 Plus, his colleagues, friends, and family can connect during flights to be more productive.
“Until you have it, you don’t appreciate how much you use it and how critical it is to the experience when you’re operating your aircraft: safety, weather, other stressors. All these things are impacted by Gogo inflight Wi-Fi,” Talley continues. “The Gogo AVANCE upgrade was 100 percent worth it.”
But wait, there’s more…
Along with the increase in connectivity speeds and the more enjoyable user experience, Aguirre says, there are other benefits to upgrading with Gogo’s AVANCE L3 or L5 solution.
For example, he said, while speed is king, Gogo Business Aviation’s proprietary AVANCE equipment provides users with an array of ease-of-use and reliability-enhancing features, including self-reporting system diagnostics and the capability to complete updates to the LRU software wirelessly when the airplane is on the ground.
“The self-reporting capability monitors the system’s health, and should it find an issue, it will automatically generate and transmit a trouble ticket to our Business Operations Center,” Aguirre says. “We then proactively contact the operator to provide them with a solution—often before they even realize there is a problem.”
That proactive approach to ensuring that their customers stay seamlessly connected has been a hallmark of Gogo Business Aviation from the very beginning.