Developments in the airborne connectivity space are accelerating, and for business aviation and even owner-flown aircraft the product choices are expanding. While prices haven’t dropped, the advent of new low-earth-orbit (LEO) networks such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb promises to open the world of high-speed airborne internet access to more users and eventually smaller aircraft. Iridium, while it doesn’t offer the speed of Starlink and OneWeb, is also a LEO constellation.
Meanwhile, the market for higher-orbit geostationary (GEO) satellite communications (satcom) remains strong. And for aircraft that don’t fly outside the U.S., the two air-to-ground (ATG) providers—Gogo Business Aviation and SmartSky—provide solutions to operators who don’t want to go the full satcom route.
Finally, there are still lower-cost options with Iridium LEO satcom, from Certus-based systems with mid-level speeds to basic messaging and voice systems that are the lowest-cost airborne communications systems available.
Following is a roundup of the various airborne connectivity products that are available, including some that are imminently coming to market. Prices, where available, don’t include any promotional offers.
Air-to-ground (ATG)
Gogo Business Aviation
Gogo was first to market with an ATG network, and many of its original ATG 1000 through 5000 systems are still flying. It’s important to note that these systems will sunset on Dec. 31, 2025, when Gogo fully transitions to its 4G network. If owners of the older ATG systems don’t upgrade to Gogo’s Avance L3 or L5 equipment before that date, they lose opportunities for equipment rebates.
Gogo is also offering provisioning for its upcoming 5G network when equipping with Avance L5 and MB13 antennas; when 5G launches later this year, customers can swap out the L5 equipment for the LX5 and access the 5G network.
Gogo ATG
North America (Conus, parts of Canada and Alaska; at launch, 5G coverage will include Conus and parts of Canada but not Alaska)
System cost without installation—L3: $55,196 to $72,168 (depending on the number of devices connecting); L5: $141,500 (with 5G provisioning)
System total weight: L3: 15 pounds; L5: 22.2 pounds
Antennas: L3, two antennas, 2.5 pounds each. L5, two DDA antennas, 4 pounds each, or two MB13 antennas (for 5G) 6 pounds each.
System speed: L3 approximate 3G speed; L5 approximate 4G speed; 5G will deliver 25 Mbps average, peak 75 to 80 Mbps.
Smallest aircraft: Cirrus Vision Jet (Avance L3)
Service pricing:
Avance L3: $495 per month for 60 MB plus $6.25 per MB overage or $1,295 per month for 250 MB plus $5.25 per MB overage or $105 per hour unlimited
Avance L5: unlimited $4,595 per month or $10,395 with streaming
Gogo 5G: unlimited $5,195 per month or streaming-enabled $7,295 per month for 35 GB plus $0.50 per MB overage
Skyline voice calling is available for an additional fee: $145 for 60 minutes per month plus $1.60 per additional minute, or $255 for 120 minutes and $1.50 per additional minute.
SmartSky Networks
SmartSky completed its ATG network in 2022, and it covers the Conus with some overlap in coastal areas. Two systems are available, Lite for single-engine turboprops and small aircraft, and Flagship for twin turboprops and light and larger jets. The Lite system uses just one full-duplex quad antenna and delivers lower speed than Flagship, which uses the full-duplex quad and high-performance blade antenna.
Supplemental type certificates (STCs) are available for most turboprops and jets, and buyers can choose their router for their Wi-Fi system.
SmartSky ATG
System cost without installation: Lite, $59,999; Flagship $119,999
Approximate installation cost: Lite, less than $115,000; Flagship less than $130,000
System total weight: Lite, less than 19 pounds; Flagship less than 32 pounds
Antennas: Lite, one antenna, 6.5 pounds; Flagship, two antennas, total 20 pounds
System speed: Lite, sustained 3 to 6 Mbps, peak over 15 Mbps; Flagship, sustained 5 to 10 Mbps, peak over 20 Mbps
Smallest aircraft: single-engine turboprop (Lite)
Service pricing:
Lite: $995 (hourly) to $3,495 (unlimited), all plans include streaming and no artificial device limits
Flagship: $3,495 per month for 5 GB, $299 per GB overage, with other plans topping out at $9,995 per month unlimited with no overage
Satcom – Iridium
Simple Messaging
The Iridium LEO satellite network is already on its second generation of higher-throughput satellites, and many providers of Iridium connectivity are now offering Certus systems that take advantage of the new satellites. For the ultimate in low-cost connectivity, companies such as BizjetMobile, Garmin, and Send Solutions sell relatively low-cost products that can send and receive text messages, smaller emails, and make voice calls. Iridium connectivity is available worldwide.
BizjetMobile
The entry-level BizjetMobile Iridium system is the $9,999 CHiiMP. Unlimited data (text messaging, email, and WhatsApp) costs $399 per month. For $24,990 and $599 per month for unlimited data, buyers of the BizjetInternet system can add 200 MB of live internet connectivity. A recent app update adds news and ChatGPT as part of the monthly service.
Collins Aerospace
Collins offers the IRT NX Iridium Certus satcom, which enables voice calls, internet browsing, text messaging, and email. The first customer installation was on a Cessna CitationJet.
System speed is up to 704 kbps.
Garmin
Garmin’s GSR 56 Iridium satcom is priced at $11,270 and requires a compatible display. It offers voice, text messaging, and worldwide weather information.
System weight is 3.35 pounds.
Antenna weight can be as little as 6.2 ounces, but various options are available.
Service prices start at $79.99 per month.
Send Solutions Airtext
Four Airtext boxes are available, each weighing about one pound. Legacy Airtext and Airtext+ are FAA-approved Iridium satcoms that must be installed by an avionics shop, including a connection to an Iridium antenna mounted on the aircraft. The AirtextLT and LT+ are portable with their own antennas and don’t require installation.
AirtextLT price is $4,950. Data plan is $500 per year for the first 2,500 text messages, with additional messages priced at five cents each.
AirtextLT+ costs $6,950 and adds email capability but in text-only format at a cost of 25 cents to $1.
Airtext sells for $10,950 and offers the same $500-per-year data plan for the first 2,500 text messages and additional messages at five cents each.
Airtext+ is priced at $18,500 and adds voice calling and email. Voice calls cost $1.53 to $2.51 per minute.
Skytrac
Skytrac’s SDL-350 is not only an Iridium Certus transceiver but includes Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity for low-cost data sharing when the aircraft is on the ground. The SDL-350 offers speed of 704 kbps receive and 352 kbps transmit.
System weight is 8.7 pounds and the high-gain antenna weighs 5.1 pounds (Wi-Fi/cellular antenna is 6.7 ounces). Skytrac systems have been installed on small aircraft including helicopters up to airliners.
Skytrac also offers the SkyNode S200-012 Iridium solution for provision of safety services and the DL-150 for FANS 1/A+ compliance.
Satcom – Low-earth-orbit (LEO)
Until Amazon’s Kuiper satellite network comes into service, there are two major players in the LEO aviation market: Eutelsat OneWeb and SpaceX Starlink. The key difference between the two is that Starlink is the sole source for hardware and service, while OneWeb is working with vendors to provide hardware and satcom service.
One advantage of LEO over GEO is that LEO satellites offer lower latency (the time it takes for signals to travel) as they fly in much lower orbits than GEO satellites. Phased-array electronically steered antennas (ESAs) with no moving parts are a key component of LEO satcom installations, and various sizes are expected to be developed to enable installation on small and large aircraft. Another LEO advantage is true worldwide coverage, while GEO systems generally don’t offer service over polar regions (although that will change with future Viasat satellite launch plans).
Eutelsat OneWeb
The OneWeb network is preparing for the launch of business aviation services later this year. OneWeb service offers up to 195 Mbps downloads and 36 Mbps uploads.
Gogo Galileo
Two antenna sizes will be available for the Gogo Galileo OneWeb service—the smaller HDX for turboprops and lighter jets and the larger FDX for heavier airplanes. The antennas are made by Hughes Network Systems, with Gogo and Hughes collaborating on their design and engineering. Gogo plans to begin flight testing its HDX antenna system in the third quarter.
The FDX measures 24 by 24 by 2 inches and weighs 40 to 45 pounds, while the HDX is 24 by 11.8 by 2 inches and weighs 21.6 pounds.
Gogo hasn’t yet released the Galileo system or service prices.
Satcom Direct
Satcom Direct will begin flight testing a phased-array ESA operating on the Eutelsat OneWeb satellite network in August. Avcon Jet will be the launch customer for the Plane Simple ESA installation and plans to equip multiple aircraft in its fleet for the OneWeb service. The satellite system and service provider expects some customers to install tail-mounted GEO satcom antennas such as its Plane Simple system along with fuselage-mounted LEO antennas to provide redundancy and full worldwide coverage.
The Plane Simple ESA, made by Gilat Satellite Networks, measures 16 by 35 inches, is just 3 inches tall, and can fit on smaller aircraft such as the HondaJet and single-engine turboprops.
Flight testing will be done on a Cessna CitationJet and a Caravan, and Satcom Direct expects to switch on its OneWeb LEO service in the first quarter of 2025. Satcom Direct plans to offer various packages such as a three-year hardware service bundle for $15,000 per month that includes all of the equipment and unlimited service. Buyers would not have any upfront capital costs other than paying a dealer for installation.
SpaceX Starlink
STCs for Starlink installations are growing rapidly, and many avionics installers have signed up for Starlink dealerships.
Two month-to-month plans are available: global 20 GB for $2,000 per month (plus $100/GB additional) and global unlimited for $10,000 per month.
The Starlink equipment weighs about 48 pounds and includes the ESA, a Starlink router, and a power supply. Retail price is $150,000.
Satcom – Geostationary orbit (GEO)
With Viasat’s purchase of Inmarsat last year, much of the GEO aviation capacity is under the Viasat umbrella, including Ku- and Ka-band systems and the Inmarsat Jet ConneX high-speed broadband satcom service. Various value-added resellers can provide the equipment and service such as Collins Aerospace, Honeywell, and Satcom Direct, and installations are available for a wide variety of aircraft from avionics dealers.
Cobham
Thales now owns the Cobham Aerospace Communications Aviator L-band and SwiftBroadband satcom systems. Both the Aviator 200S single-channel system and Aviator 700S dual-channel systems are available, and the company is adding new systems later this year and next year, including the 300S, 400S, and 600S. These systems are all safety services-capable.
Collins Aerospace
Collins is also a reseller of Jet ConneX service as well as manufacturing the LuxStream Ku-band satcom that runs on the SES satellite network. LuxStream offers speeds of up to 25 Mbps in the U.S. and 15 Mbps globally.
Honeywell
Honeywell has long served the satcom marketplace and still offers a large variety of products for business aviation. These range from L-band LEO and GEO to Ku- and Ka-band systems and also satcom services. Networks that Honeywell equipment works with vary from Iridium to Inmarsat/Viasat, SES, and others, depending on the market being served.
Satcom system prices offered by Honeywell range from $75,000 to $550,000.
System weights range from 45 pounds for a Ku- or Ka-band tail-mount antenna to 120 pounds for a larger fuselage-mounted mechanically steered antenna.
Ku-band systems run at up to 20 Mbps while Ka-band can reach more than 200 Mbps.
Honeywell also offers L-band SwiftBroadband equipment, which is usable for the provision of safety services.
Satcom Direct
Satcom Direct offers its Plane Simple Ku- and Ka-band antenna systems, which can be installed as a dual-dissimilar system with two tail-mount antennas on larger aircraft. The company is now offering a power-by-the-hour option for Viasat’s Jet ConneX service as well as value-added services such as cybersecurity and FlightDeck Freedom datalink and flight deck communications, plus services for most satcom bands.
For smaller aircraft such as super-midsize jets, Satcom Direct offers the Ku-band Intelsat FlexExec system, with dedicated capacity for business aviation customers.
Viasat
While Viasat’s acquisition of Inmarsat means their satellite networks are all under one umbrella, Viasat still offers its own airborne terminal and antenna systems as well as services, while the Inmarsat equipment and services are available from resellers, dealers, and service providers. Next year, Viasat plans to launch three high-capacity Viasat-3 satellites that will expand its coverage and services.
Another new service available from Inmarsat is SwiftJet, the fastest-yet L-band connectivity service, which recently completed over-the-air and flight testing through a Honeywell terminal upgrade. SwiftJet will provide speeds of 2.6 Mbps, up to six times faster than the existing SwiftBroadband L-band business aviation service, through Honeywell’s terminals including HD-710, HSD-440, HSD-400, and Aspire 400. The service, available in the fourth quarter, will be offered on monthly data plans, eliminating the need to pay per minute of use.