Gogo Inflight Internet
| File:Gogo 4C RGB JPG2.gif | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Technology, Aviation |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Itasca, Illinois, USA |
| Website | www.gogoair.com |
Gogo provides in-flight broadband Internet service, streaming video and other connectivity services for commercial and business aircraft. In June 2011, the company formally changed its name from Aircell to Gogo as part of a rebranding effort. Prior to the rebrand, Gogo's commercial air service was known as "Gogo Inflight Internet." Aircell remains the name of the company's business aviation division.
Gogo allows airline passengers to connect to the Internet through a system of cell towers on the ground. Their Air to Ground (ATG) system is a 3G wireless technology that utilizes EV-DO Rev. A.
Gogo owns more than 100 towers, which together form a network over the continental U.S. and parts of Alaska. The towers are cellphone towers that have been outfitted to point their signals at the sky rather than along the ground. The aircraft picks up the signal through a receiver installed on its underside. When it reaches the aircraft, the data signal is distributed throughout the cabin via a Wi-Fi system. Customers are required to enter their e-mail address and complete a CAPTCHA before using the service.
The company announced that in 2012 they will launch a next generation Air to Ground service called ATG-4. Gogo claims its ATG-4 service will significantly enhance the existing ATG network and improve per aircraft capacity by approximately four times current performance through the addition of Directional Antenna, Dual Modem and EV-DO Rev.B technologies.
On May 18, 2012, Gogo announced it will offer Ku-band satellite technology by the end of the year as an interim move to support transoceanic flights.[1]
Gogo also says it will provide airlines with Ka-band satellite technology to provide additional capacity to supplement what is available through ATG, ATG-4. Satellite service will enable Gogo service beyond the continental United States. The company says they plan to deploy a Ka-band satellite solution by 2014.
Connectivity and performance
During a 2008 test by a journalist on a flight, coverage was continuous and only small lags in speed were detected when passing from one cell tower signal to the next. The speed of the connection during that test was comparable to a cell phone’s Internet surfing speed on land or a home DSL connection: approximately 500–600 Kibit/s for downloads and 300 Kibit/s for uploads.[2] Total bandwidth for the flight is approximately 3 Mbit/s.
The Gogo service is compatible with Macintosh, Linux, and Windows computers, as well as devices that have Wi-Fi capability, including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android, and iPhone.
Connection onboard can be similar (under optimal conditions) to the experience at Wi-Fi hotspots such as coffee shops and hotels in some but not all cases. Users report connectivity issues to streaming video such YouTube and HBO-GO. Some users reported Speedtest.net benchmarks above 3 Mbit/s, while another users reported low Speedtest.net benchmark results such as 0.03 Mbit/s down and 0.27 up. The user connects to the gogoinflight network and registers in the same way they would on the ground. The network becomes accessible as soon as electronic devices are approved for use after take-off.[3]
The service includes account management and allows purchasing service before the flight using the product web site. VoIP applications are prohibited by the terms of service.[4]
Participating airlines
Gogo service began on American Airlines in July 2008. The first routes served were JFK to San Francisco, JFK to LAX, and JFK to Miami. They are currently expanding to include Gogo service on the full American Airlines domestic fleet.[5]
On August 5, 2008, Delta Air Lines announced it would install Gogo on all its domestic aircraft, which has since been completed. Recently, Delta announced that Gogo service would be expanded to include its full fleet of Delta regional jets.[6] but a 2009 merger with Northwest Airlines added to the fleet. By early April 2010, 437 of 540 aircraft in the combined domestic fleet offered Wi-Fi, with remaining installations expected by summer 2010.[7]
Virgin America became the first airline with fleetwide in-flight Internet access, in March 2009.[3]
On July 14, 2009, AirTran Airways completed installation of Gogo on 136 of its aircraft.[8]
October 2, 2009 saw the launch of Gogo on United Airlines' p.s. flight 23 from New York to Los Angeles. The company plans to have Gogo installed on its entire p.s. fleet by November 6, 2009.
On November 20, 2009 Gogo announced that Air Canada has begun trials of the Gogo system on select Toronto-Los Angeles and Montreal-Los Angeles flights which occur in large part over the continental US.[9]
On February 24, 2010, Alaska Airlines announced that it will offer Gogo on its full fleet. The full fleet installation was completed in the fall of 2011.[10]
On March 29, 2010, US Airways announced that all its Airbus A321 fleet would offer Gogo by June 1, 2011. The full fleet installation was completed in the fall of 2011.[11]
On February 5, 2012 Frontier Airlines announced that it had equipped all of its Embraer E190 aircraft with Gogo to begin service on February 6, 2012.[12]
Market potential
Broadband Internet access in the air is much welcomed by the Internet-reliant public, particularly business travelers. The participating airlines hope to increase revenue with the additional fees, in a time when air travel is down and remaining customers are reluctant to pay higher prices for plane tickets.[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Gogo to Add Satellite Service for Transoceanic Flights". Frequent Business Traveler. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
- ^ Internet-a-Gogo: Airlines to Offer In-Flight Access The Wall Street Journal
- ^ a b "Press Releases". Virgin America. 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ "Gogo Faq". Gogoinflight.com. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ "Airline Wireless | Inflight Internet| Airplane Wifi Access". AA.com. 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ Delta Air Lines To Offer In-Flight Wi-Fi On All Domestic Flights (Official Press Release: August 5, 2008)
- ^ "Spring is in the air... and so is the Internet! (Delta blog: Apr 6, 2010)". Blog.delta.com. 2010-04-06. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ PROMISE DELIVERED: Airtran Completes Installation of Wi-Fi On All Aircraft [1]
- ^ Four pieces of great inflight WiFi news from Gogo
- ^ "Alaska Airlines To Offer Gogo Inflight Internet Service". Gogo.mediaroom.com. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ "Us Airways Takes To The Sky With Gogo Inflight Internet". Gogo.mediaroom.com. Retrieved 2010-12-14.
- ^ "Frontier Begins Gogo Offering on E190 Aircraft".
- ^ Terdiman, Daniel. January 25, 2008. In-flight Internet: Grounded for life? CNET