With the shutdown of the SmartSky Networks air-to-ground (ATG) network, the recent rapid growth of SpaceX’s Starlink aviation offerings, and Gogo Business Aviation’s imminent Galileo low-earth-orbit (LEO) service, the airborne connectivity landscape has suddenly shifted.
SmartSky aimed to compete in the U.S. ATG space and got its network up and running, with equipment packages available for a variety of aircraft. An unknown number of installations took place at SmartSky dealer avionics shops, but the momentum just wasn’t there and it seems that there weren’t that many SmartSky systems installed. After spending hundreds of millions, SmartSky announced its surprise shutdown on August 16. This leaves aircraft owners who installed SmartSky systems in the lurch with no option to continue using their systems, and now they will have to pay again to install something else.
If ATG is the choice, then Gogo’s Avance L3 or L5 systems are the sole options. With seamless availability in the contiguous U.S. and parts of Canada and Alaska, Gogo’s coverage is more extensive than SmartSky’s was. An advantage for Avance L5 installations is that when coupled with Gogo’s MB13 antennas, switching to Gogo’s upcoming 5G service will be a simple matter of swapping one LRU. Gogo 5G is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2025.
Starlink is generating a lot of buzz, according to avionics installation shops, and this may be due in part to aircraft owners’ positive experiences with home Starlink service. Although some people think that Starlink is only for big jets, due to the size of its electronically steered antenna (ESA), earlier this year Starlink demonstrated its system installed on a Beechcraft King Air 200. Since then, Starlink’s online list of supplemental type certificates (STCs) approved and under development has grown considerably.
One factor holding Starlink back from more rapid STC approvals is that it has been selective in which companies it wants to develop the STCs. So far, only three companies have done STCs, among them AeroMech and Nextant Aerospace for the business aviation market. Unlike other airborne connectivity providers, Starlink has not yet allowed its dealers or airframe OEM service centers to develop their own STCs, which could speed up the approval process.
Although Starlink isn’t planning to deploy a smaller ESA, it is allowing owners of light general aviation aircraft to tap into its satellite network using a Starlink Mini ESA and the $250 per month (for 50 GB) Mobile Priority service. Top aircraft speed is limited to 250-knots groundspeed, and users must figure out a way to provide power to the system and mount the antenna, all in a temporary fashion to meet FAA requirements for non-installed, portable equipment.
The aviation-specific Starlink package costs $150,000, with installation bringing the total to about $300,000. Service costs range from $2,000 for 50 GB to $10,000 unlimited per month. Starlink speeds range from 40 to 220 Mbps download and eight to 25 Mbps upload.
Gogo’s Galileo service is expected to launch this quarter, starting with its smaller HDX antenna. The larger FDX antenna will be available next year.
The Galileo service runs on Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO network. Service speed for the HDX system is up to 60 Mbps download and 11 Mbps upload, while the FDX will offer 195 Mbps download and 32 Mbps upload. Monthly service pricing ranges from $3,500 for 25 GB to $10,500 for unlimited data. System hardware as an add-on to Avance L5 costs $120,000 for HDX or $190,000 for FDX.
Gogo has signed contracts with dealers for 25 STC programs that cover an addressable market of about 18,000 business aircraft, from Pilatus PC-12s and King Airs to light, midsize, and large business jets.