Story ID: 
Gogo Business Aviation Achieves 4G STC
By: Matt Thurber
Caption: Gogo Business Aviation's Challenger 600 was used to certify the the 4G system installation in a business jet.
Word Count: 415
Gogo Business Aviation has received FAA supplemental type certification (STC) for its Gogo Biz 4G air-to-ground airborne connectivity system. Gogo Biz 4G is three times as fast as Gogo’s existing business aviation air-to-ground service and delivers peak speeds of up to 9.8 Mbps, allowing streaming video and audio, email with attachments, web browsing, voice calling and VPN support. 

The Gogo Vision inflight entertainment system is included with the 4G system, and also available are a flight tracker with real-time weather reports and Gogo Text & Talk, which allows users to make voice calls and use text messaging with their own smartphones and phone numbers. (These features can be added to other existing Gogo systems.) Gogo coverage is available over the Continental U.S. and portions of Alaska and Canada from more than 250 towers.

The 4G STC certification testing was done in Gogo’s Challenger 600. Dealers including Constant Aviation, Duncan Aviation, Silverhawk Aviation and Western Aircraft are developing STCs for a variety of business aircraft, according to Gogo, and the new 4G system will be available for delivery “later this quarter,” with installations beginning when STCs are approved. 

The 4G equipment package includes dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi service in a single box. Gogo Business Aviation is offering incentives for new and existing customers to upgrade to the 4G system. According to the company, “Gogo Biz 4G is available at $75,000 for existing ATG 5000 customers or $85,000 for existing ATG 4000 customers,” and this includes three months of Gogo Vision and Text & Talk for equipment delivered by the end of the year. Buyers installing a new 4G system can get it under Gogo Business Aviation’s Fast Track program for $99,000 if they order by March 31 and have it installed by the end of the year. After March 31, the MSRP increases to $126,000.

Aircraft that upgrade to the 4G system will be upgradeable later to Gogo’s high-speed Next Gen network, which “is expected to produce speeds up to 100 Mbps,” Gogo said. Next Gen, based on LTE technology, should launch in 2018 and “will use a proprietary modem, a new beam-forming antenna and unlicensed spectrum to produce that level of performance.” 

“We continue to cross important thresholds on our path to launching our Gogo 4G Biz service,” said Mike Syverson, senior vice president of technology and operations for Gogo. “We continue to remain on schedule with our system development, hitting every major milestone we committed to when we announced the service.”